Now that you have a band organized and have rehearsed sufficiently or you are already very proficient in accompanying yourself with a guitar or a piano and already have a wide repertoire of songs, you know now is the time to start finding work as a professional singer. All the hard work is done and now is the time for fun and even fame! Isn't this the glorious day you have been looking forward to?
Finding work as a singer is not as difficult as many people make out to be because there will always be restaurants, clubs, pubs, private and public functions looking for competent professional singers like you. You can either hire agents or approach the venue of your interest directly after finding out who is the person in charge for conducting auditions, hiring bands and singers.
After talking to your potential employers, you can send them your demo CDs prior to a live audition. If you are selected, they will call you and your band for a live audition. This is the crucial point where you either succeed in getting yourself hired or not.
If you are applying for a singing job at bars and pubs, your potential employer will not be interested in listening to your original material. You are not a superstar and you have yet to establish an audience who will want to listen to your original composition no matter how good they are.
What they want will be what the venue's audience wants to listen to. Remember this, the club owners are in this for money and you will have to earn them money to justify your fee and job.
For example, if you sing with a jazz band, then obviously you cannot send your jazz demo CDs to rock clubs. It is therefore imperative that you understand the nature of the venue before sending your demo CDs.
Choose about 6-8 songs for your demo CDs for your pre-audition. This is because your potential employers will want to know that you have a wide repertoire and style. Do not attempt to showcase slow ballads unless you are very good and soulful or otherwise, you will bore your potential employers. Besides, slow songs are more difficult to sing well and mistakes are easier to spot.
If you are auditioning just for a singing job and do not have a band, then don't clutter your songs with some amateurish accompaniment. Sing with a karaoke minus one accompaniment instead. That will make you sound more like a proficient singer instead of a fumbling wannabe amateur.
Your first singing gig is probably one of the most important miles-stone of your singing career. Do learn quickly. If you are singing in a club and no one is paying attention to your performance, then you need to quickly know why. Perhaps you are not on stage and the audience cannot see you, or you may be performing too softly or too loudly until you sound irritating. There will be plenty of tweaking to do until you get your performance just right.
If you are a solo singer and are accompanying yourself, make sure the guitar or piano accompaniment arrangements are not too complex. Your voice must come through, not the sound of the musical instrument. Your audience are there to listen to you singing and do not want to listen to the clang clang bang bang of your guitar or piano. The musical instrument supports the song, not the other way round.
For instance, listen to Dina Krall when she accompanies herself on the piano. When singing, she just plays the chords so that her voice and lyrics come across with clarity and powerful emotions. It is during the instrumental part of the song that her piano playing is more fanciful and more crescendo applied.
Finding work as a singer is easy, but the road to being a successful professional singer or to fame is another matter.
As you settle back in your chair, trying to look a lot more relaxed than you feel, the interviewer picks up your resume or application and starts to ask for details about your prior experience.
If you have a resume that specifies quantifiable results, now is your chance to expand on that. If you increased sales by 20% per quarter or completed a departmental reorganization that resulted in a budget reduction of 10%, you are on your way. Obviously such achievements outlined in your resume impressed the potential employer enough to call you in for an interview, so your amplification of the details of actions you took will be eagerly welcomed.
Unfortunately, most of us perform work where the results are less obvious. If you have worked in production or customer service or retail, it is very difficult to tie your efforts directly to company results. In such a case, try to highlight any personal successes or management recognition that demonstrates your competence.
Any promotion is excellent, even if only to a lead position or being put in charge of a special project. Describe what you did so that the interviewer can appreciate your prior employer's belief in your ability to take on new responsibilities.
If no promotions were made (often none are readily available), identify any situations where you were singled out for recognition. That may range from being employee of the month to being asked to train new coworkers or receiving a written or verbal recommendation from a customer you assisted. If you received positive feedback from supervisors, describe the details.
While each job applicant tries to represent themselves as a super-achiever, the fact remains that many of us work quite competently for years without ever receiving a genuine promotion or even much recognition. Employers are aware of that. In fact, if the position is routine without much room for upward mobility, they may be wary of an over-achiever who is going to chaff against the lack of promotional opportunities. One of ?The Apprentice? applicants looking for work in a manufacturing environment would be viewed with more than a dose of suspicion.
If such is your case ? a good solid worker (or even somewhat marginal), find some personal strengths to describe. If you seldom take sick leave or have a reputation for always being on time, now is the time to focus on that. Perhaps you take off time whenever you can and run perennially late, bring up another aspect of your character such as an ability to work as part of a team or outstanding relationships with coworkers (those jawfests around the water cooler or the three beers after work with your cronies, complaining about the management monkeys you have to tolerate, are finally a positive reflection on you!)
If you have worked for one employer for an extended period of time, you don't have to stress your stability, the interviewer already knows that. Instead, concentrate on answering the unasked questions in his mind, his fear that you are set in your ways. Stress your flexibility and desire to learn new skills and procedures. If you changed departments or job title or responsibilities during your long tenure, give the details and how well you adapted to change.
If your work history is varied with many jobs for short periods of time, explain how much you learned from each separate job and stress your current desire to blend your experiences into a long-term, stable career. Describe how you are looking for a company where you can hunker down and commit for the long haul.
It may take you some time and self-exploration to identify it, but there are always some aspects of your work history that carry a positive spin. Don't be afraid to dwell on your strong points no matter how unimpressive you fear your prior jobs may seem.
Both Chris Chew & Virginia Bola are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Chew has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Online College and Cosmetic Surgery. Chris Chew writes regularly about music and singing. More articles at his websites and. Chris Chew's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.
Virginia Bola has sinced written about articles on various topics from Employment, Lose Weight and Interview Questions. A Licensed Psychologist and Rehabilitation Counselor, Dr. Bola developed for clients and has served as a recognized Vocational Expert in co. Virginia Bola's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.