Studio Production: CV feedback & updates

The next step within the studio production unit was to send in my cv for review before applying to the job roles that I would like. 

Current CV

 CV feedback

• Overall it is a great CV, the layout is clear and simple to read.  Julia mentioned today that when she reads a CV she skims it first, so all of your key relevant industry experience should be in the top half of the first page, and use bullet points wherever is appropriate to make your skills stand out.  A CV should be factual and ‘to-the-point’ which you can embellish on with a covering letter and at the interview stage.

Improvements

• "Objective – change heading to “Profile or Statement"
• This paragraph is a bit long, a statement should be 3-4 sentences and really highlight what you are proficient in and also what you want to learn/achieve.  It should also mention the type of job role you aspire to (even if that changes in the future).  Skills like time-management/work ethic/working in a team and individually are normally expected anyway by an employer and therefore don’t need to be mentioned in your statement (plus your work history will demonstrate that you inherently have those skills).  Instead, highlight your technical & camera skills, studio experience and editing abilities which will show an employer from the first paragraph that you have the skills they need."

• "Move your “Skills” section up to sit between your statement and the Work Experience section.  Embellish it to include exact IT and editing/industry software you can use (employers will be looking for these); which cameras you can use; if you can drive put that on too.  “Confident communicator with the public and team members” is a good way to embellish that skill (which, again for a runner role is very important)."

• "Work Experience is a great section, you have done some brilliant work so far – keep it up!  Did I hear you mention you’d worked on Children in Need?  If so, make sure that’s on there too."

• "List your part-time jobs under a separate heading of “Work History”.  Again, you have great transferable skills here too."

• "Education looks great, nicely laid out.  Did you work on last year’s studio production?  If so, you can add a brief description under your Uni course title."

- Laura Coull, 2016)

 Updated CV

Taking every aspect of feedback given by Laura, I then went ahead and updated my CV and was very pleased with the en result. To me it looked a lot neater and was more concise. 

What I have learnt from this exercise

From this exercise I have learnt how important it is to get external feedback from professionals and people who are very used to seeing CVs.when you only have yourself for reference it is very easy to just accept that your CV is good enough, however it has become apparent to me that I must always keep it checked and updated, especially since I plan on adding more experience to it. 

Next step for this unit

1. Apply for job roles
2. Be interviewed for job roles
3. after receiving roles, do some research to be better prepared for when the show starts