Here at Vanderbloemen, we have the privilege of helping churches all over the country find high-capacity worship pastors to lead their congregations. We see a large volume and variety of resumes and videos from candidates with a passion for worship, and we’re honored to see their heart for leading others in worship. But as we evaluate submissions for worship leader positions, there are several things that can make a worship leader’s application stand out as a potential Unicorn candidate with all the right qualities.

If you are a worship pastor in transition, here are 4 essential green flags that you should demonstrate as you enter the interview and search process:

1. Include team leadership in your resume.

Much of a worship pastor’s role, influence, and responsibilities occur off-stage. Be sure to include on your ministry resume the part of your job that shows influence with volunteers, leading teams through rehearsals, or managing creative arts or technical staff. 

State what you do to develop your band and vocal volunteers. Share how you lead them not only in their craft but spiritually as a worship pastor. Share what role you have in weekly service planning. Describe what you have oversight experience of, particularly if you have overseen multiple campuses. Include other programming elements you use outside of music. List other skills such as video editing, audio mixing, lighting, and stage design. If you have additional interests and strengths that could be an asset to a worship team, such as songwriting, consider sharing a link to your website with examples on your resume.

One way you can share this information in addition to your resume is by including videos. Consider the best format to share each piece of information so that your strengths are seen, and the value of your experience is communicated.

2. Include video.

Worship sample videos help us see your heart, experience, talent, and potential in addition to the written information on your resume. In fact, having multiple videos is the best way to represent the breadth of your experience. Interviewers know that not everyone has access to high-caliber video and audio equipment. Don’t worry too much about the quality. Focus on the content and how you present yourself.

Audio samples are not sufficient to show your experience. Stage presence is an important factor search teams are looking for when they watch your video. If you want to be remembered and considered for the job, you need to provide a video representation of yourself.

3. Toot your own horn.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but many candidates submit only videos of an entire team leading worship. Hiring leadership teams want to see you leading and hear your voice. While live videos may demonstrate stage presence, it can be hard to distinguish your voice in the mix of a live worship video from a Sunday service. 

If the live videos you already have do not highlight you, we advise creating an additional video of you in your home office playing the guitar or singing a capella as a supplement to showcase your vocal range and tone. This is not a substitute for a live worship video, but can help hiring teams get a better idea of your musical talent.

In all cases, remember that a variety of music samples showcasing your abilities and stage presence is best for the interview.

4. Showcase your musical and rhetorical talents.

We want to not only see you lead the worship musically but also spiritually. In your video, show us transitions, prayer, special music, scripture readings, and other pastoral teaching elements. Churches considering hiring you want to see how you engage and lead people in order to discern if you will be a fit for their congregation. 

If you have the capacity, include a short 30-60 second personal introduction to your video as well to help hiring teams get to know you, your heart, and your personal philosophy of worship. While a Sunday video can capture the essence of how you live out your beliefs, leadership, and character, your introduction will articulate exactly what you consider most important. A combination of both types of content is most effective.

Vanderbloemen is continually honored and humbled to walk with candidates through their job search process and see their heart, calling, and talent for leading others in worship. Our hope is that you can utilize these tips to successfully move past the transition phase and ultimately land where God is calling you to lead.

Looking for more tips on how to become the employee churches want to retain? Check out CEO William Vanderbloemen’s recent book titled, Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders From the Rest. You can learn about how to aquire the traits that all the most valued and effective leaders share and recruiters are actively searching for.