CV creation
To be able
to showcase yourself on a professional platform you need to have a number of
different basic elements for interviews such as a CV, cover letter and
portfolio. Therefore had a talk by the business aid to guide us in how to
present ourselves, here is some of the information I got out of the session
with the work I have done in connection. As I develop my CV, cover letter and
business card will change and develop to make it more fitting to my future
style and profession but here is some text about my current documents seen on
the double page.
My old CV
On the left
hand side (the two sheets with my floral pattern) is a copy of my old CV that I
created last year (and as you can see has not been updated currently) In the
creation of this CV I was told to place my own personality to the piece by
adding imagery to make it more of a creative CV to showcase an example of my
own work, but within the talk they advised against this for several different
reasons. One of the reasons is that it can make the CV look unclear and
therefore diffusing from the point of a CV being a simple document of your
details, another reason for the dislike of imagery on a CV is that it can make
the document look less professional and a little child like. The imagery used
dependent on your personal style (drawing ability and handprint) can reduce the
professional feeling as it may not connect to this neat digital structure of a
written piece of documentation. Another of the main things we were told was to
reduce our CV size to one A4 page due to the way an employer would not look
over a document that is of great length due to time constrictions within their
busy lives, therefore if your CV is too long they will just swipe it into a bin
and not look at you at all no matter what qualifications you have and how
suitable you are for that job. This highlight the importance of having to place
the best information on the CV as you don’t have room for anything else so need
the key elements to attract attention. So as a result of this in my new CV I
have reduced the number or my achievements to the most recent ones as these
showcase that I am active currently, reduced my education so they can only see
what items are relevant to the position I want to gain. Lastly I have taken off
my future plans as I feel that this is really not needed in a CV as it states
that you have plans that are outside the job so they feel that you may only
want the job for a job and will not stay long with the company and therefore
look over you as why should they bother employing and teaching you if you are
just going to leave when a better opportunity or your plans take off. One of
the thing that I found interesting from when Dorota Covered the lession is that
you have to tailor your CV so much for different job roles within the industry
that you could have at least 20 different CVs at one time making the use of key
words in your CV (and that match with the job criteria) key, which I did know
but didn’t realise the extent of its importance.
My new CV
In my new CV
I have taken into consideration all the element suggested within the CV talk
(only one A4 page, only relevant achievements ect...) they way that I have set
out my CV with the boxed headings to make the CV very clear and easy for the
employer to read as you know what heading it is under as it boxes it in, this I
feel would gain more attention of an employer as it doesn’t feel confusing and
too much writing to read as it segments it out into clear paragraphs, meaning
that they are less likely to overlook my CV in the pile of others which is
always a good thing. I have also decided to change my personal statement to
reflect my current style and personality to the employer as this is more true
to my currently and therefore shows a true representation of me for the
employer to look at. Within this I have also chosen to add in some other
information that I feel would make it very clear to read. One of the things
that I have added is a section called links where I have placed other links to
my work and social media so they can see my online portfolio (as well as my
professional one on my LinkedIn page stated under my name as this is the most
important one for them to judge me under and find out about me currently and my
work) so they are easily able to see my online presents, the type of
professional person I am (my personality as someone that will not turn up to
work hangover but passionate about the industry I’m in) and the work that I do,
by doing this it shows the employer I have nothing to hide and am professional
in everything I do, helping me gain an interview as this is the type of
personal they want in their company. Overall I feel my new CV is very clean and
clear with elements such as the links aiding me in becoming more employable and
current. They are able to see my work clearly and all the skills that I have on
paper and via my online portfolios (seen when you go to my links within my CV
page) therefore building up their knowledge of me and what I do so they can see
how suitable I am to them as an individual.
My cover letter
In my cover letter to make it more
focused and current tailored it to a company that i would like to work with
within my future, by doing this it makes the letter more directed and usable
for the future as this path is one I want to go down making it fitting for what
I want to do. For this cover letter I have chosen to use the company tiger lily
as reference as this is a company that o would Like to work for in the future,
tiger lily is w digital print company that specialises in the use of photo shop
and illustrator for the creation of digital prints for different aspects for
the market including fashion, interiors, packaging and advertising. I was lucky
to be able to gain some experience with this company during my HND so was able
to experience what they expect in their company and also the people that they
work with therefore building up the desire to go into that path (printed
design) the owner of the company taught me to use the different digital
platforms that they use and was very willing to teach me also adding to my
desire to intro there due to the knowledge I can learn for them as well as the opportunity
to work in various markets. Within the presentation o the elements needed in a
professional CV we were told the importance of having a focused cover letter in
your documentation sent to the company s that they can get to know you better
and see if you are suitable for their company. They
told us to focus our letter and tailor it to the right person and the different
elements needed within the letter as suggested bellow:
·
Name the person you are writing too and not say sir or madam - we were
told that for your letters to be as successful as possible in aiding you
gain an interview one of the key elements you need as this allows your
documentation to get to the right person and not get lost with the company's
other post, by addressing a particular person it makes the letter seen more
directed and personal making them more I tested in reading your piece they
will be curious of what is within the letter as it is personally
addressed to them. Therefore within this over letter of mine to send to
the company tiger lily I have directed this to Paul the man that taught me
about the digital industry and the owner of the company, by doing this he is
more likely to read the letter and also he my remember me and my work
(where other people in the company who look at employability will of be
Blue to recognise is you so may overlook you ) therefore helping me gain a
interview at that company making it one of the key things needed within the
documentation you send off to a company.
·
Tailor your cover
letter context - within the presentation we were shown how important it is to
focus the context of your cover letter to suit that certain role / job as by
doing this you are able to show The you process the essential quality's that
they require for that placement within their company. Therefore in my cover
letter I have named my skills that are suitable for the use of digital print
(what they use and do) as this highlights that I will able to do the job that
they require me for, have also described my style as well, as they are the able
to see my personality and handprint so see in that way if I would be suitable
for the role that I am applying to and the company in general. another
thing we were told was the importance of placing in a cover letter what our can
offer the company if they where to employ you, this was harder for me to write
a out as you never really know what they are looking for down to every
detail no matter how much research you do about the job role, for this cover
letter in particular I have suggested that what I can offer then (as well as my
own style that is unique to me) is that I am willing to learn from them,
making then be able to mould me and change me to fit into them better. So
stating that I have the skills to do the job but want to be able to over
forward and develop further with their knowledge and way of doing things, like
a blank canvas that they can paint with their influences and ways. By doing
this hopefully they will feel more willing to interview me as it doesn't
make me seen so bigheaded and self contained but instead someone that is
willing to work to become a successful in that place. Lastly at the end of the
letter I have said that I look forward to hearing from them as this puts the
'ball in their court' and suggesting that you are expecting a response from
them (bad or good news) so builds up links and connections with yourself and
the brand so if in the future you want to go back to them they will hopefully
know who you are and see how much you would like to work with that company
increasing the chance of you gaining an interview with them in the future.
My business card
on my business
card I wanted it to not be so formal but instead to project my personality and
style with only a small amount of detail about myself so that people can make
up their own minds about me by just seeing what I do, but at the same time have
enough details about myself that they are able to get into contact with me
easily if they liked my work. Here are some of the reasons I have designed my
card as seen bellow:
·
Designed
background – for the background of my business card I have placed one of my
designs that I feel showcases my style being very nature inspired and feminine
using light colours to represent the beauty of nature, this image I feel does
that well due to the colours in the piece and the design itself helping
showcase to people that are unfamiliar with my work my brands personality and
overall look helping them remember who I am due to the way that they will link
my name with this girly look (as we have visual memory) and therefore aid me
build up support for my work.
·
Bold
name with description under it – to really showcase that my brand is very
feminine I have chosen a very girly type for my brand name to written in, this
handwriting is very classic highlighting my collections traditional feel as
well. this mixed all together sends a clear message about me as a designer and
my brands identity and therefore attracting the right kind of person to my
brand due to the specific look it has not relating to certain types/styles
within the industry.
·
Contact
details bold – on my business card I have add three different professional
contact details so that they are able to contact me if they wish, on this card
I have only placed my professional contacts and not my social media as this is
to show me as a professional women within the industry and not just a blogger.
This business card is more focused on business people to look at and judge
(another reason why I have only added my professional links) but if I were at a
show I may include this to add my social media accounts so that they are able
to see me as a designer and not as a potential employee or business partner,
therefore tailoring it for their usage purpose to build up public support for
me. The text is in black bold block print (not the feminine style seen in my
title) to make it clear on how to contact me with details not getting lost in
the font type.
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