Professional Practice II – Creative CV

Some interesting and inspiring CV I researched for in Pinterest:

This  session was all about how to produce a CV and how to use it after we leave uni. An argument that I didn’t think would require more than half an hour but I suppose you never stop learning how everything we to can always be improved or updated.

Es asked us why we were interested in assisting this session and everybody gave a quick answer. There were some who wanted to learn how to write an art oriented CV, for a job experience, write a creative CV, how to make a CV stand out or how to make it more unique, how to underline in it emotions personal characteristics such as enthusiasm or how to write a non boring CV. So the whole session started to have an interesting approach.

Even though I came across this information earlier this year, it was a good reminder to learn again about Graduate Trainee Schemes There are quite a few out there in companies such as M&S starting next summer. Applications are already open for whoever might be interested. There are some websites to look for these schemes such as:

In Art and Design there aren’t always fixed roles to apply for depending exactly on the course you graduated from. In fact, most of the roles do not specify a degree needed to apply. There are many interdisciplinary roles that could for example qualify for the same job both a textile student and a graphic designer etc. I believe it was this crossing roles that inspire Cardiff Met to encourage students to combine in their practice workshops from across all art and design courses. It was also very interesting to learn that around 20% of graduates in art and designs are in totally unrelated jobs in 2 years from the graduation. I can only imagine that the people in this percentage either found a better payed job and kept their passion as a hobby or during their studies they might have understood that they didn’t want to make a living out of that anymore, as they initially thought when they enrolled.

There are many job roles and in different categories that a graduate can apply for:

  • Designer and Maker – Freelance and Company
  • Business/ Creative- Buyer, Visual Merchandiser
  • Media- Film, Television, Theatre Design
  • Commercial – Advertising, Marketing, PR
  • Education and Community – Teaching, Art Therapy
  • Design/Art practice – Commissions, Residencies
  • Technical – Colour Technologist, Quality Control

Professional Arts Facilitation Roles:

  • Teaching/Arts Education
  • Art Therapy/Arts in Health
  • Community Artist
  • Creative Projects Manager/Event Management
  • Workshop Leaders

For those interested in education there are applications through Ucas. At this point I thought it wouldn’t be of any interest to me but I immediately found out that these applications are not only for those interested in becoming an academic but also for those interested in giving workshops in schools.

There are also jobs in Promoting/Managing art such as:

  • Gallery Curator
  • Arts Administration
  • Conservator
  • Exhibitions Manager
  • Arts writing/journalism
  • Researcher/information/archivist

As it seems most graduate jobs don’t require a specific degree discipline. Most graduate employees ask for potential, enthusiasm, and how the candidate would fit in with the company. There is also the possibility in combining a part time freelancing/self employed job with an employed one. So you can be a freelancer and give workshops, be self employed and be employed in a company. As a curiosity: after graduation, people tend to go through several jobs before settling for the right career path.

Useful websites:

IMPORTANT:

  • Most jobs in industry are not advertised. The advice is to send speculative applications. First identify the employers/companies you want to work for, study them through their website and do a cover letter for each one of them;
  • Networking and making contacts. Make yourself known. Employees often say that the employer made themselves known to them, this is how they got the job – key message gained from Es from people from the industry attending New Designers;
  • Search job pages in Linkedin and generally on social media;
  • Sign up for job allerts;
  • Attend Events.

Search for jobs:

Make specific industry oriented CV!!! Types of CV:

  • Chronological (the old fashion), even though we are creative it is still important;
  • Skills based, list all skills;
  • Visual/Creative one;
  • Specialised CV;
  • A mix of these styles. It is the best because you have to put a bit of all.

Ask:

  • Does my CV fit the purpose?
  • Does it mach my personality?
  • Does it fit into what the company I’m writing to wants to hear?
  • The cover letter goes alongside a portfolio and hand in hand with the CV?
  • Think, what makes you stand out and what shows your uniqueness?

Essentials:

  • Have a clearly laid out and concise CV;
  • It is important to have bullet points;
  • A full record of education and work history, no major gaps;
  • No grammatical errors, punctuation;
  • Put emphasise on strengths and major skills.

CV Structure:

  1. Personal details: name, address, cell number, website, blog if relevant, social media. Everything that is relevant. If not relevant like the date of birth, you don’t put it, it just takes space and won’t have a say as pro or con for hiring;
  2. Some people put a profile of some lines in but often it tends to say the same in each profile ending up with too generic statements that anybody could say, if it s like this don’t put;
  3. Skills: extra curriculum activities are important. For ex. music theatre – you put confidence to relate to it, instead of describing it too much in details. Academic reports from jobs, etc that had important feedback. Put bullet points with skills and put a short sentence that goes together in context of how we developed it. Design skills, creativity, personal skills, languages are all important. Include self taught skills that I’m developing if at a good (medium high) standard and relevant;
  4. Education and qualification. Give a paragraph of degree with dates. Not only listing modules, but what you gained from each. Put A levels and highlight the marks in the relevant subjects (technical sketching for me);
  5. Employments/Work experience – It they take too much space group some together if relevant instead of list them individually;
  6. Hobbies and interest a few lines only, if a self taught skill is not medium high maybe it’s better to put it in here, if it’s high it might go in the skills if relevant.
  7. No more 2 pages of CV, better if only 1 page.

Reference: If there is no space, don’t put references, just put a line saying to ask for reference if needed. As reference you normally put two: 1) one of the tutors, 2) one from outside Uni.

Evidence of Skills is shown through different experience: Course work, including organising exhibitions, live projects, placements. Work experience, Leisure activities, Travel, Social etc.

How the Skills Section should look like:

  • Skills profile as a distinct section with bullet points;
  • Be concise and give clear specific examples;
  • Match your strengths to the job requirements;
  • What can you do? How can you prove it?
  • What does the employer/industry want? Do your research
  • Where are skills gaps, what can you do about this?

There are many personal skills one can add: Initiative, Creativity, Independent judgement, Oral communication skills, Flexibility and adaptability, Self reliance, Self confidence, Organisational skills etc.

Style: for example a class mate applied (and got the job) for Lush. and She knew they were sensitive regarding the LGBT community so she did a rainbow coloured CV and changed the font accordingly. Es also showed us very creative CV’s, some successful, some less where the creativity overcame the purpose of the CV, so it is important to be aware of the overall look and feel and find the right balance.

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