5 Websites to Find Audio Jobs
Soundlister
Soundlister is a platform where audio professionals can showcase their skills for prospective clients. The site aims to connect artists, musicians and audio engineers with people that need high quality audio for their project.
In the past it was hard to source talent because people were spread across many different platforms. Soundlister has everything in one place which makes it an attractive platform for both clients and audio professionals.
Indeed
Indeed is a popular job searching website that aggregates many positions from company career pages and paid job listings. At any one time you can find almost 3 million jobs listed and it’s simple to create your own online resume on the platform. This allows a potential employer to read your resume and contact you directly via the mobile app.
It is true that Indeed has fallen a little behind other job search sites such as ZipRecruiter and Google Jobs in recent years. However, this is still an excellent source of audio engineering jobs, because there are employer reviews and a handy career section similar to the one found on Glassdoor and other sites.
SimplyHired
SimplyHired collates job listings from many sources, including:
- Job boards,
- Web listings,
- Niche job platforms
- Company career pages.
The company has active listings from almost 700,000 employers working in 24 nations and speaking 12 languages.
When a job listing is created on SimplyHired, it is shared with more than 100 high profile job boards to boost the visibility even further.
The platform also features a useful guide to help you create a compelling resume, write a cover letter and secure that interview for your dream audio engineering job. If you’re looking for a new job or you want a change SimplyHIred is an excellent resource.
LinkedIn is a well regarded platform for business networking in many different fields including professional audio. The detailed profile that you create will be seen by potential clients and recruiters.
A helpful career pages area allows you to search active job listings in your field to improve your earning opportunities. Many professionals build a successful career using LinkedIn alone and if you don’t have a profile on this platform, it is time to create one.
ZipRecruiter
ZipRecruiter Summary
- Top-rated app and job search engine
- Simple, 1-tap job application process
- Over 30 different job categories
- More than 7.5 million jobs posted each day
ZipRecruiter has become one of the best known job search sites in the U.S. in recent years and you can see their ads regularly on radio, TV and in direct mail shots.
At any one time you can expect to find around 5 million active job listings and the company has excellent reviews. Both job hunters and employers enjoy using the platform, it’s clean, the search function is simple to use and there is a mobile app.
As an added bonus, ZipRecruiter sends you an alert if a potential employer is looking through your resume.
What Is an Audio Engineer?
The term “Audio Engineer” can be confusing because it’s often used in an interchangeable manner. It may be used in place of other terms, including:
- Sound Engineer,
- Mixing Engineer,
- Recording Engineer,
- Live Music Engineer.
This can be confusing. But it’s important to realize that outside very specific roles, an Audio Engineer is essentially a person that deals with the recording and production of sound. This could be a music project. It can also involve other aspects of audio production, such as:
- Audio books,
- Theater productions,
- Filmmaking
- And much more.
A skilled audio engineer can find work in a recording studio. They may also specialize in live sound at a concert venue, theater or other location. Any project that requires the use of recording and enhancement of sound will benefit from the input of a professional audio engineer. To illustrate this point, think about any kind of media. Imagine what it would be like without the sound component.
Working the Technical Side
An audio engineer is often seen as the technical side of the music business. While a musician may be perceived to be the creative force. In many cases, this is true, but over the years the boundaries have become blurred. Many musicians got their start as “bedroom producers”. They work on projects from home and they have developed considerable audio engineering skills.
Some professional audio engineers are musicians too and they understand the creative process very well. In a modern studio it’s common to see the audio engineer as a partner in the creative process. Many audio engineers even have signature techniques that they have developed. This helps to create a unique sound that their clients want on a recording.
The Work is Subjective
Audio is a subjective field because we all hear things differently so it’s good to get a professional perspective. A person may describe a sound as “thin” or “booming” or some other epithet. An audio engineer has to interpret that and fix the problem. This requires a good knowledge of audio theory, understanding how the isolate frequencies and how consonance and dissonance affect sound.
Over time a good audio engineer will develop a solid network of contacts and loyal clients. They may specialize in a certain niche, such as live audio or mastering. Keeping abreast of technological advances is also important. It helps to understand to make key decisions on which recording software and equipment to use on specific projects.
Working as an audio engineer can be extremely gratifying if you love sound. It can take some time to get established. Formal training is available, but you may find that your homegrown skills can carry you a long way. There are many different audio jobs to consider. So you need to do some research on the type of audio projects that interest you most. Start by:
- Reading interviews with audio professionals,
- Follow audio blogs and articles
- Spend time with popular DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstations) This will help to find the software that meets the needs of you and your potential clients.
How Much You Can Make as an Sound Engineer?
With around 1-4 years of experience, you can expect to earn around $15.28 per hour. At 5-9 years of experience this can rise to $19.45 per hour and more.
These are of course average salaries, highly skilled professionals with access to desirable technology and recording spaces can command higher fees.
10 Types of Audio Jobs
Some of the most common audio engineer jobs, include:
- Live Sound Engineer
- Mastering Engineer
- Recording Engineer
- Tracking Engineer
- Studio Engineer
- Audio Design Engineer
- Monitor Engineer
- Post Audio Engineer
- Forensic Audio Specialist
- Audio Broadcast Engineer
Tips for Getting Audio Jobs
Getting your start in the pro audio world can be a challenge but here are five tips that will help you to improve your chances of landing an audio engineering job.
1. Treat Every Job as a Connection
This is equally true if you’re starting out with part-time audio editing jobs on Fiverr to build a profile or working in a professional recording studio. You may have heard the old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and to a certain extent this is correct.
If you have a professional attitude at every stage of your audio engineering career people will notice. Word gets around and reliable people are more likely to get hired to carry out professional grade work. So, make sure you complete your projects on time and don’t turn in anything that you’re not proud to put your name on.
Over time you will start to realize that you’re being referred to other people and you have become the “go to” person for audio work in your niche.
2. Things Move Fast, Be Prepared
When you hear that a studio is hiring you need to drop any non-essential tasks and place your focus 100% on securing that job. Reach out to the employer, make sure they know you’re interested and get your application in early.
Bear in mind that the position may have already been open for a while before you even heard about it. There may be other applicants that are already in the running to land that job. So make sure you show that you are hungry for an opportunity because no company wants to hire staff that are under motivated.
3. Learn How to Craft a Resume and Cover Letter
Whenever you write your resume or a cover letter make sure they are tailored to the opportunity. If you want to work in post production audio for TV your love of live music engineering as a teenager is of no relevance. Always detail any qualifications that you have and detail your relevant skills that make you the ideal choice for the role.
Learn more about the place where you are applying for work and throw in the occasional reference to show you’ve done your homework. This demonstrates that you are genuinely interested in working at the company.
Get your resume professionally proofread and edited to remove any typos and grammatical errors. If you cannot demonstrate attention to detail in your paperwork this makes you look like a bad prospect. Only use a couple of fonts that work well together and go with a 1-2 page resume that is easy to read. Each section should be clearly indicated with titles, such as:
- Contact Information
- Work Experience
- Education
Clearly name the PDF file and include the information in the body of the email and as an attached file.
4. Adopt a Flexible Approach
When you’re starting out be careful, avoid being too picky because you didn’t land your dream job immediately. If you are too specific about the kind of audio jobs that you want to do you may be limiting your earning potential. Be open to any kind of audio engineering work to get some professional experience and you can be more selective later.
5. Start Your Own Website
When you work on a project back up your work and create an archive. Create your own website, link it to your social media and use that as a place to showcase your work. Over the years you may build an impressive body of work that potential employers can reference.
This is far easier than sending lots of examples and it’s ultimately far more impressive. There are plenty of ways to build your own website for free and you can put together something impressive using only Wix or WordPress.
