Industry news & advice blog

Starting out as a humble work experiencer herself, having handled countless CVs and dealt with more work placement staff than you can shake a rather large stick at during her 10 years at The Unsigned Guide, our Editor Louise is pretty well-versed in both sides of the work experience coin. In the competitive and highly aspirational music industry, securing work (and paid work at that!) can be a little tricky and more often than not, work experience will be a key factor in getting your foot in the door. 

 

Don’t be put off, there are opportunities aplenty out there and Louise has some essential advice that should help you secure a work placement, internship or job, and further tips on how to make the most of that opportunity and stand out from the thousands of other music industry hopefuls. So here's Louise with Part 1 of her blog, all about bagging that all important placement.

 

 

First things first, make sure you have the right attitude! Yes, you will be working for free for the most part and there may be early mornings or late nights involved, not to mention some boring and unglamorous tasks ahead of you. If you think you will have an issue with any of this, and perhaps do not feel committed enough to give it your all, then you more than likely won’t get very much out of a work experience placement. Remember, it’s not just you though! I have worked in the music industry for 10 years and I can absolutely guarantee you that to this day I spend more of my time than you’d realise tackling boring spreadsheets and doing monotonous tasks. So it’s not just reserved for work experience people; it’s just part and parcel of any business, even music. Most music companies rely on very tight teamwork so if you’re given the chance to be let through the doors and immerse yourself as part of that team, please take it seriously and be prepared to get stuck in!

Next step…you need to find an available work experience placement that suits you and is preferably in the field you eventually hope to work in. That said, the music industry is a changeable and interlinked world so even if you can’t find something that is precisely along the lines of what you aim to do in future, as long as it is of interest to you and you’re prepared to give it your all, then get applying! Having a broad knowledge of the music industry and all its facets will always stand in your favour when applying for future roles anyhow. 

 

There are a number of websites and newsletters where you can keep your eyes open for jobs or work experience placements (UK Music Jobs, Record Of The Day, CMU Daily, Handle, The BPI, Music Week et al) and of course digging around on Google may also unearth some opportunities as well. We very regularly have work experience placements going here at The Unsigned Guide that we post about on our website, Facebook and Twitter feeds so be sure to check back regularly. So, get bookmarking relevant websites, follow them on Twitter and/or Facebook so you can keep abreast of any new opportunities and be first off the mark.

 

Whilst you’re waiting for the right opportunity to come up, making enquiries yourself is a good idea. Contact music companies working in your area of interest by telephone or email and ask if they offer work experience. Remember, always be polite and professional in your enquiries. If you’re not then it’s unlikely I’m going to want you communicating with my customers or other music businesses on my behalf. Using The Unsigned Guide directory can be a great starting point for finding contact details for all manner of music businesses and it will save you time too. Whatever you’re interested in doing: working at a record label, music photography, live sound engineering, gig promotion, music journalism, running a studio – The Unsigned Guide directory will put you in touch with people and companies that you can ask for help with mentoring, shadowing in their work place to get a feel for what they do, work placements and internships. Do your research and get cracking!  

 

Another good way to put yourself in prime running for work placements is partaking in a bit of networking. If there are any music industry masterclasses, seminars or networking groups taking place in your local area then be sure to attend! You never know who you could meet and if there are any music industry folks on hand sharing their knowledge, be sure to make a polite introduction and have a little chat with them. You may not walk away with a work placement there and then, but you never know who could prove useful to know in the future in your quest for music industry work. If you are looking to make long term contacts, you may also want to think about sprucing up your LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook profiles or blogs to make sure you come across in the best light possible.

 

Once you’ve found a placement that takes your fancy, before you steam-roller in with your CV, take a little time to do some research first. It only needs to be 15 minutes or so! Take a look at the company’s website and familiarise yourself with what they do. Take a look at their blog or Twitter feed to see what they are talking about to get a further idea of their day to day work. I don’t expect everyone that applies for a placement at The Unsigned Guide to have a complete understanding of everything we do, but if you can demonstrate that you have looked into it, know a little and are interested in finding out about the rest, then the effort you have put into a little prior research will be appreciated.

 

I am constantly surprised (and as proofreading is a large part of my job – also appalled!!) by the volume of spelling mistakes, bad grammar and other errors I come across in CVs from people who contact us for prospective work. It may not be your strong point, but there is no excuse for your CV – your walking advertisement of yourself – going out with mistakes in it. Even if all of the above is your strong point, please always get someone to check over your CV/covering letter/introduction email. Two pair of eyes is always better than one, and they may just spot something you have missed. As they say, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so don’t blow it!

 

If you are still at college or university and getting your CV spruced up to wing out to the world, always ask your tutor to have a look over it first and provide feedback. That’s what your education providers are there for and they should be able to offer advice and provide encouragement all the way! 

 

I reiterate this phrase time and time again when it comes to sending demos out, and it’s also true of sending out CVs. It is quite obvious when a standard email has been sent out en masse, and the chances are that it will most likely end up in my Deleted Items folder. A prime example being:

 

A quick telephone call or a little bit of research would enable this email to be addressed to a specific person and identify whether there are any work experience opportunities or positions available or not, instead of just assuming. I also want to see that you have a keen interest in working in the music industry and that you have bothered to find out a bit about our business, plus why you feel coming to spend time with our team would benefit you.

A well thought out email introducing yourself, demonstrating some genuine interest in what we do and being involved in that will pretty much always guarantee that we’ll get in touch for a further chat or meet-up, sometimes without even taking a look at your CV. However, a single vague sentence, template email, or worse - one riddled with spelling mistakes - unfortunately means that your CV won’t even be opened. Another pet hate of mine (and others I’m sure) is the overly familiar email – please don’t open an email with ‘Yo’, ‘Holla’ or ‘Word Up’. I’m not even kidding, I have received 2 of these 3 greetings in the past from people looking to get a work placement. Professionalism is key!

 

Another quick tip when attaching your CV – don’t send it saved as ‘My CV’ but give the file name your full name. This will not only make you look wonderfully professional, but will also make sure your CV doesn’t get mixed up, saved over or mis-filed by whomever you’ve sent it to. You can guarantee they are also on the receiving end of many more CVs so you don’t want your details to be lost.

 

So, hopefully these tips have provided you with plenty of food for thought for obtaining some valuable work experience in the music industry. Check out Part 2 of Your Essential Guide to Work Experience in the Music Industry which covers what to do when that placement is yours; how to best conduct yourself, make a memorable impression (for the right reasons!) and personally get the most out of your experience.