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For the past several years, I've been the lead singer, songwriter and de facto manager for a rock band. I'm wondering if I should put this on my LS resume, and if so, what would be the best way to include it? Activities? Employment? I hesitate because i don't want to be seen as a frivolous or unserious candidate, but at the same time, I feel like some of my experiences (booking tours and arranging accommodations, marketing and networking) are really relevant, and it also helps explains a few gaps in my employment, when I was on tour, recording, etc.

Haha, I thought you were referring to the game "Rock Band". Yes, put it on! Stuff like this is what separates you from the pack.

If paid, employment, if not activities. Its solid and adds interest to you as a person.

Thanks! It was never exactly profitable, but we were generally paid.

I would hesitate to put it under employment even if you were paid. I'd save that section for things that are more relevant to legal jobs. But definitely make it stand out in the application section so it doesn't just look like you just write songs in your den to sing to your cat.

I also thought you were talking about the video game. I would mention it. It's interesting, and if it is relevant to your legal pursuits (entertainment law, etc...) play it up in your personal statement too. You want to be able to explain any holes in your employment record, and mentioning it does so and makes you that much more memorable to admissions.

clintonius wrote:I would hesitate to put it under employment even if you were paid. I'd save that section for things that are more relevant to legal jobs. But definitely make it stand out in the application section so it doesn't just look like you just write songs in your den to sing to your cat.

Meh, most applicants don't have skills that are "more" relevant to legal jobs than playing in a rockband. If anything, the same legally benificial skills are present in most non-legal gigs, you just need to extract them and play them up correctly.

Veyron wrote:If paid, employment, if not activities. Its solid and adds interest to you as a person.

This, and you can definitely extract positive things to say about it... responsibility and time management are two things that would pop into my head.

Veyron wrote:

clintonius wrote:I would hesitate to put it under employment even if you were paid. I'd save that section for things that are more relevant to legal jobs. But definitely make it stand out in the application section so it doesn't just look like you just write songs in your den to sing to your cat.

Meh, most applicants don't have skills that are "more" relevant to legal jobs than playing in a rockband. If anything, the same legally benificial skills are present in most non-legal gigs, you just need to extract them and play them up correctly.

I think the problem with putting it in the employment section is that it changes the perceived motivation for having done it. They weren't in the band to make money - the money was pretty secondary (I'm assuming). They were doing it because they're musicians and it was a creative outlet. It has more force presented as an interest - you can say that you played paid gigs, but again, the emphasis should be on the creativity/initiative shown by putting a band together.

Edit: sorry, definitely put this on your resume. It rocks! (I couldn't pass that up. )

ahduth wrote:

Veyron wrote:

clintonius wrote:I would hesitate to put it under employment even if you were paid. I'd save that section for things that are more relevant to legal jobs. But definitely make it stand out in the application section so it doesn't just look like you just write songs in your den to sing to your cat.

Meh, most applicants don't have skills that are "more" relevant to legal jobs than playing in a rockband. If anything, the same legally benificial skills are present in most non-legal gigs, you just need to extract them and play them up correctly.

I think the problem with putting it in the employment section is that it changes the perceived motivation for having done it. They weren't in the band to make money - the money was pretty secondary (I'm assuming). They were doing it because they're musicians and it was a creative outlet. It has more force presented as an interest - you can say that you played paid gigs, but again, the emphasis should be on the creativity/initiative shown by putting a band together.

Edit: sorry, definitely put this on your resume. It rocks! (I couldn't pass that up. )

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I have years of professional racing experience. Instead of putting it under "Professional Experience", I created a new section heading labeled "Professional Racing Experience". You could do the same and create a new section. I had a professional career as well and it just doesn't make sense, and the dates overlapped anyway.

The questions that come up for me about putting this on or leaving it off are:

1) Name of band (see 2nd paragraph below for more explanation)
2) Popularity, and actual success of the band
3) Similar to #2, the venues played
4) Also similar to #2, Albums recorded and sales
5) Purpose and scale of undertaking (i.e. real professional undertaking or just entirely a small local gig with no further ambition).

I think how these questions are answered could affect whether to put this experience down or not, and also how to characterize it on a resume. I've had friends who were professional musicians, so obv they'd prob put their music experience down as work experience. I've also had friends who were semi-pro and opened for some big bands with the aim of doing it professionally but may or may not actually make it. Honestly I don't know how exactly any of them characterize the experience on resumes, but I imagine it is differently characterized depending on some of the above factors as well as where they are applying to if anywhere.

If it was a side thing, playing a few tiny local gigs with no albums recorded then I think it might be better just to leave it off. If the band name is something obscene or obnoxious, I think maybe leaving it off or at least omitting the name might be wise, unless the band was bigtime such as being nationally known etc. Just my thoughts.

r6_philly wrote:I have years of professional racing experience. Instead of putting it under "Professional Experience", I created a new section heading labeled "Professional Racing Experience".

I'm not sure why, but this made me laugh out loud

Pizon wrote:

r6_philly wrote:I have years of professional racing experience. Instead of putting it under "Professional Experience", I created a new section heading labeled "Professional Racing Experience".

I'm not sure why, but this made me laugh out loud

I'd love to find out why if you would.

honestly, put it in the employment section. My resume had in its employment section that I worked in a grocery store full time. Law schools love things that make a candidate out of the ordinary (Yale boasts about admitting oboists, firemen, graphic designers and snake charmers).

If you got paid for it, then put it as employment. It shows that you were more than just some dumb kid playing in a battle of the bands. You actually made money off the thing, and that makes you unusual, and thus more desirable.

Then again, these resumes really don't count for too much in the grand scheme of admissions... so dont spend too much more time thinking about it.

if you got paid as you considered it a full-time gig, I say put it under employment. As others have commented, I think it will make you stick out [in a good way]!

I (a vocal performance major and musical theatre performer for several years) divided up my resume into two sections, professional and performance. The former was larger than the latter and I didn't bother listing out all of the shows that I performed in, more a general overview of types of parts, types of employers, positions of leadership, and brief explanations where I thought a lay person wouldn't understand the significance.