Kevin Wilson’s Post

You work hard to get your music grades, get hired, and find yourself in front of a room filled with 3-year-olds, only to discover that what you know and what you have to do are vastly different. What do you think about the expectations most schools place on hiring for a kindergarten music teacher? #hiring #musicteacher #schools #principals

Torrins India | 🎵 Navigating the Hiring Landscape for Music Teachers: Insights for the Current Market 🎵 As the demand for quality education in the arts continues to grow, so does the need for exceptional music teachers. Understanding the current hiring trends in this field is crucial for both educators and educational institutions alike. Here are some insights to consider: 1. Digital Fluency is Non-Negotiable: In a rapidly evolving educational landscape, digital fluency is no longer just a bonus but a necessity. Music teachers who can seamlessly integrate technology into their teaching methods are in high demand. 2. Versatility Matters: With diverse student populations and evolving curricula, versatility is key for music educators. Those who can teach multiple instruments or styles have a competitive edge in today's market. 3. Emphasis on Soft Skills: Beyond technical proficiency, employers are placing increasing importance on soft skills such as communication, empathy, and adaptability. Music teachers who can connect with students on a personal level and create inclusive learning environments are highly sought after. 4. Professional Development is Continuous: Teachers who actively seek out opportunities to refine their skills and stay updated on industry trends are more likely to succeed in today's competitive job market. What hiring trends have you observed in the field of music education? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! -Torrins India HR Team #musiceducation #hiringtrend

An education in Music Makes one a Better Employee. What kinds of skills are transferable from music education to an employment setting?   When we see the word “musician” on a resume we might not immediately think “stellar employee” or “exceptional leader”. Is there more to the profession than meets the stereotype? It is well known many musicians work simultaneously in music and other roles. Less understood is just how well the extensive skillset developed in music, transfers to a professional workplace. A common industry saying about rehearsal reflects an attitude of #consistency and #punctuality – “early is on time, on time is late, and late is left behind.” Some other notable skills include #autonomy and #selfdirection, #resilience and #perseverance. The development of these strengths is attributed  to the disciplined and focused attention required to learn music, and the intrinsic motivation needed to practise and perfect an instrument over a long period of time. This is increasingly relevant in an age where screens and social media steal our concentration. Another key trait is #creativity, which may reflect findings that the musically trained have more neuronal matter, and therefore increased brain activity. Experiences in music also translate to a greater appreciation of #diversityandinclusivity, exceptional leadership and deep listening skills, and the ability to manage “difficult” conversations respectfully within a team. This leads to suggest that employers and recruiters need to respect and appreciate the professional contributions of the musically trained. If you are not already doing so, this maybe a good time to start! #exceptionalleadership #listeningskills #musiceducation #Betteremployee #hiring #TalentAcquisiton    

🏵 ASPIRING TO BECOME A MUSIC FACULTY MEMBER? 🏵 (Post 3 of 3) Over the past 18 years, I've hired many faculty and heard from numerous fellow deans about their good (and bad) hiring decisions. Along the way, I've often been asked for insights or advice on how aspiring music performers and researchers can best navigate the process and position themselves for success. Here is the third of three posts. I hope this is helpful. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to chat. 🌻 INSIGHTS #3: SOME THINGS I’VE LEARNED 🌻 Over the years, I've hired dozens of faculty, advised on shaping dynamic arts and learning communities, and observed music schools and departments thrive (or struggle). Here are some lessons about music making, music teaching, faculty life, and leadership in general. 1. Talent is as much about hard work and determination as it is about ability. 2. It’s easy to love a place for what it is or for what it can become. The job of a good leader, or of a leader in the making, is to do both. 3. Whenever you can, make friends with people unlike yourself. 4. Technique ultimately has just one purpose; to enable us to express as fully and richly as we might. 5. People are not thinking machines that feel, they are feeling animals that think. Accept this, and you will save yourself much disappointment from unreasonable expectations. 6. Love and care, along with humility and courage are vital but insufficient if you will help strengthen the inclusive and diverse quality of your community. What is also needed is being comfortable with being uncomfortable – of being in an ongoing state of growth, of becoming. Which is to say, one of the very best things you can ever do is to adopt and maintain a growth mindset. 7. If you’re thinking of a career in higher education, don’t overlook private high schools. Some of them are dynamic communities of the first order, and can be exceptionally rewarding teaching communities. #HigherEducation #MusicFaculty #AcademicCareers #MusicEducation #PerformingArts #FacultyHiring #InterviewTips #AcademicJobSearch #InclusionAndDiversity #HigherEdCareers #CareerAdvice #EducationCommunity #MusicResearch #ProfessionalDevelopment #ArtsLeadership

📌 🎵 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 & 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 ? I firmly believe, Music is more than a hobby—it's a viable career path with immense opportunities. The Need for More 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: It's time to establish more government or corporate-run schools that focus on arts, music, literature, and provide real-life learning experiences. Such institutions would: ✅Encourage Talents: Nurture students' interests in dancing, singing, and other artistic fields. ✅Provide Real-World Skills: Equip students with practical skills in editing, film production, and animation. ✅Offer Specialized Training: Enable students to receive guidance from professionals in their chosen fields. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬: ✅Musicians and Singers: Essential for rituals, weddings, and cultural events like Navratri and folk dances. ✅Dancers and Choreographers: Needed for celebrations, film production, and live performances. ✅Film Production and Editing: Vital for creating high-quality content in the entertainment industry. ✅Voice Over Artists and Animators: Crucial for bringing characters to life in movies and advertisements. ✅Content Writers: Important for developing scripts, lyrics, and promotional materials. Incorporating music and arts into the education system not only enriches students' lives but also prepares them for a wide array of career opportunities. Let's advocate for more artistic schools and encourage students to pursue their passion in music and the arts. Share your thoughts and support the movement towards a more creatively enriched education system. Please do share your insights in the comment box ! #music #arts #education #worldmusicday #highereducation #schools #university #contentwriters #voiceover #filmproduction #musicians #singers #advocate #careeropportunities #students #thoughts #support #passion #art #creativity #passion

🏵 ASPIRING TO BECOME A MUSIC FACULTY MEMBER? 🏵 (Post 2 of 3) Over the past 18 years, I've hired many faculty and heard from numerous fellow deans about their good (and bad) hiring decisions. Along the way, I've often been asked for insights or advice on how aspiring music performers and researchers can best navigate the process and position themselves for success. Here is the second of three posts. I hope this is helpful. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to chat. 🌻 INSIGHTS #2: THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU MUST PRACTICE 🌻 There’s no way to master all possible questions, but these are commonly asked. Practice with a friend for honest feedback. TELL US... - about yourself. (Keep it to 3-4 sentences that reveal your strengths and alignment with the position. Your answer should highlight your key strengths and help the search committee understand how your experiences and values align with those of the position they’re hiring for.) - about a time you navigated a difficult issue with a student. (Be honest, and reveal either something you got right, or a mistake that you made and how you powerfully learned from it.) - about a time you had a conflict with someone. (Shape an answer that reveals you’re human and oriented towards finding common ground/solutions.) - about a difficult mistake you made and what you learned from it. (It needs to be big enough to count as a serious mistake, but not so big that they’ll start being skeptical of your values or mental health. The key point is that you LEARNED something significant.) - how you might support diversity and inclusion. (If you don’t yet have any experience with ACTIONS around these critical areas, make more effort. Your identity is relevant, but your commitment and actions are more important.) - why this position interests you. (“I need a job” won’t cut it. Get at what excites you about the potential within the position and community.) - about your strengths and weaknesses. (Keep the list simple, clean, and interesting. “I care/work too hard” is not a weakness. It’s a boast. When you identify a weakness, speak to something that you are actively addressing/improving – something significant enough to be seen as a weakness, yet not so serious that it’s a cause for concern.) - why we should hire you. (See this as a combination of “why this position interests you” and “what are your strengths [relevant to this position]”.) - about your teaching approach or philosophy. (Keep this to 3-4 sentences identifying the core guiding principles and values that ground your understanding of “great” teaching – the type of teaching you practice pursuing and aspire to engage in.) - If they're innovative, they'll present you with a tricky scenario and ask you what you’d do. (There’s no easy way to practice for this one. Practice the above questions/answers, and you’re well on your way to getting ready to answer this one honestly.) #MusicFaculty #AcademicCareers #InterviewTips #AcademicJobSearch

IEC colleagues: If you're working with a junior who wants to major in music in college, now is the perfect time for them to start their search in earnest. The music admissions process can get really complicated, and there's certainly more work to do with these students than those applying for non-creative majors. If music isn't in your wheelhouse, but you already have a great relationship with the student and their family, I encourage you to reach out for a co-consulting relationship! This can be super helpful to work as a team for the student, giving them the best advice from both academic and music perspectives. As a former Director of Conservatory Admissions and music major myself, I live and breath music :) I can help with: -Crafting a detailed music resume (very different than a regular resume!) -Presenting a fantastic video audition or learning how to present in a live audition -Career exploration within the arts sector (there's SO much more than just performing or teaching) -Finding summer music-making activities -Connecting with the right-fit applied lesson teacher at the colleges in consideration -Getting and staying organized with all of the extra application materials, audition dates, music scholarship opportunities, and more. Let's work together to provide clarity in the admissions process to aspiring musicians and artists while helping to maintain their mental health. #musicadmissions #collegeadmissions #iec #collaboration #mentalhealthmatters

🏵 ASPIRING TO BECOME A MUSIC FACULTY MEMBER? 🏵 (Post 1 of 3) Over the past 18 years, I've hired many faculty and heard from numerous fellow deans about their good (and bad) hiring decisions. Along the way, I've often been asked for insights or advice on how aspiring music performers and researchers can best navigate the process and position themselves for success. Here is the first of three posts. I hope this is helpful. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to chat. 🌻 INSIGHTS #1: APPROACHING AND NAVIGATING INTERVIEWS 🌻 A GIVEN: Strong musical talent is a given. Any applicant who ends in the “maybe consider” or “definitely consider” piles at the start of a search has exceptional talent—whether as a performer or a researcher. Your CV should demonstrate this clearly. EXPERIENCES THAT ARE A PLUS: While strong talent is essential, two experiences will especially strengthen your application: - Engagement in Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) work. - Ability and interest in collaborative and innovative work, such as building new audiences, interdisciplinary research, or partnerships with diverse scholars and performers. If you don't have examples of either areas of work in your CV, time to do more work. WHERE YOU CAN STAND OUT, OR TRIP UP - Research and Knowledge: Stand out by thoroughly researching the institution, its people, programs, and initiatives. Someone might have some stronger skills in some areas than you, but you can do MORE homework and show genuine interest and investment in the search committee's school/area. Believe me, they want to feel cared for. - Passion and Curiosity: Demonstrate passion, generosity, and curiosity. Engage with the search committee about their values and insights. You'll be tempted to be focused on yourself, focus also on them. People like to receive attention. - Small Interactions: Bring generosity to your small interactions, whether it's with administrative staff, hotel staff, collaborative pianists, or student guides. These moments matter. (Yes, we have checked with front office people at hotels to see how interactions with candidates went.) A WORD ON INTERVIEWING I'll share more about this in Post 2. Preparation: Look out for for the next post for specific questions to practice and practice extensively. Have a friend ask you them out loud. Get their feedback and refine your answers. The goal is to work harder at preparing than other candidates. REMEMBER THESE THINGS - Use Humor: When you slip up, acknowledge it with a smile and restart. This shows resilience and grace. - Hidden Agendas: Understand that advertised needs and hidden agendas both play a role in hiring. Committees are comprised of humans with both. You will never be in an interview situation where you fully understand the hidden agendas. - Fit: If you don't get an offer, it might be about fit. Trust that the committee understands the position and community better than you might.

The development of #TransversalSkills, particularly in the area of spoken communication, is something I find myself discussing daily. With the recent publication of the final Australian Universities Accord report and it's skills-based focus, this has ramped up considerably over the past few weeks. The data is telling. Learning that formatively and summatively develops all skills, including spoken communication, cannot be underestimated for the role they play in #CareerReadiness and just as importantly for their role in supporting the notion of ‘learning for life’. Before we can build on our work, further embedding and developing transversal skills across the #HigherEducation sector though, we need to see more clearly what is happening now. How are graduates using the skills developed in one discipline and transferring/applying them to new circumstances? This is a thoughtful study by colleague and friend Dr Diana Tolmie that will certainly contribute to that mapping: Ever wondered how your musical education and experiences translates to the skills you use in other workplaces? Griffith University is conducting an anonymous survey seeking participants who: are musically educated but never pursued music employment; work dual-careers in music and non-music work; plus those who have exited the music profession and now work in other fields.  https://lnkd.in/gcudBPei Any queries, please email the Chief Investigator Dr Diana Tolmie  d.tolmie@griffith.edu.au #Employability #MusicEducation

Analytical thinking is considered to be a core skill by more companies than any other skill, making up, on average, 9.1% of the core skills reported by companies. Creative thinking comes a close second. This is according to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report. Analytical thinking and creativity are at the heart of what we teach at Chetham's, so students are ready for whatever career they choose, whether it’s related to music or something else. The possibilities are endless when they graduate from Chetham's and our thriving alumni community includes doctors, lawyers, neuroscientists, politicians, nurses and lots more (as well as professional musicians). Find out how analysis and creativity is taught at our school and why these skills are a vital part of music education 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXWeySuC #MusicEducation #Education #Educating #Teach #Graduate #Careers #CareerTips #CareersAdvice