Careers 1 to 1 and more CV Feedback

My careers session wasn't very long as I had already created a CV and portfolio/website, it was more of a feedback session. She said my work was easy to understand, contemporary, commercial and exciting. This is the brand I am aiming for so this was amazing!

Feedback on my CV was that I hit all the main headlines but to check vigorously for capital letters etc. Also, through my Craft interview,  Dan suggested I remove the image of myself to not distract from the information, and to beef up my education section to make the information fast and digestible for recruiters like himself. He said it wasn't major but was a useful suggestion.

Interview with Craft Agency

I applied for the position sent through LAU's Opportunities emails for an entry job as Account Executive, which actually sounds very fun and would allow me to expand and realise possible potential in marketing. As long as I am working with a creative team I would be happy!

My interview was with Craft's owner in the Tetley Cafe. I had gone over the role in my careers one to one the previous day and revised a pack of the job description.

Notes I made were relatable to my experience and as it isn't primarily design, I focused on speaking about my people/research/presentation skills. They quizzed me on if I would be comfortable not taking a design focused role, but more research and communications, which I agreed would be exciting and allowing me to gain other skills which will be useful in the future! Communication with clients is key in graphic design, learnt especially this last year, so it all ties in. I will find out next week if I have been shortlisted.

The experience made me feel at ease as they assured it was just a chat and we were in a cafe environment- I feel I made a good impression having my notes written down and jotting his recommendations for my CV down too. I focused on areas revised in an account executive role and asked questions at the end! Great to have interview experience as this is the first creative role I have been interviewed for in person.

It shows that applying for roles from an early stage is beneficial for keeping the ball rolling and getting ahead! Getting my name out there and keeping in contact with these people on LinkedIn has been massively useful.

'Business Cards'

If there is a slot available at this point, I want to make self branding stickers instead of business cards as it feels more part of my brand, and everyone loves stickers!

These stickers will be distributed to potential employers and creative networkers as they are fun, decorative with the energetic lines, reminding everyone of my name and my brands energy/style.

With a business card I feel like it could be buried or just stored in a drawer forgotten about- as with stickers, creatives enjoy putting these on their things and this is self advertisement to them and those they work with. It would be an effective way of getting my brand recognised opposed to business cards, personally. I will ofcourse test this and print business cards if I struggle.

These can be sent along with my concertina after I graduate to businesses if I am struggling to get employment. I can also send other stickers than represent my projects, including ones I have printed for my rethink mink brief.

Creative CV update

Based off Darren's kind feedback, I have adjusted my creative CV as it needs to make a good impression to potential employers in industry. This is a time where updating develops quickly, so I have added my self branding and website. Based off his feedback, I have made the text smaller so it is not as clunky and will add my graduate mark when I have officially graduated. I felt daft there was no point of contact directly on my CV unless you searched for me which was a huge error!

Timekeeping

My ways of timekeeping are through my notebook which I am going to submit for extended practice, and using sticky notes on my work desk at home which I place in order and tick off! This has always been a useful way of timekeeping for me opposed to writing on a calendar as I can put them in order and throw them away when that part of the task is done.

My google calendar is also checked almost daily as I keep my events and appointments noted in there as well as knowing when tutorial days are available as well as briefings.

CV and portfolio feedback from Darren at CharacterCreative

CV:  great that it's a single page but you could definitely tighten it up a bit.

- try lowering the point size of your body copy and increasing your margins - it'll let it breathe a bit more.

- consider flipping to 'landscape'. 9 times out of 10 it'll be viewing on a screen, so make the most of the real estate you've got. 

- create a template and/or grid that you can carry through to your work samples.

- if you're struggling for ideas, go look at: http://cvparade.com/ for some inspiration.

Very useful feedback- I have made text smaller and added self branding to go with my brand identity. I was unsure about making it landscape as I haven't really seen this before but I will consider it in the future.

Samples: stop sending single files - wrap them all up in a single PDF file (ideally with your CV as the front page).

- create a 'template' for showcasing your work. That way you're demonstrating versatility whilst also building something cohesive. 

- show me something with commercial value. Idea generation, 'student briefs' are great but I want to see examples of things that'll work in the real world.

- if you've not got that, revisit old D&AD or YCN student briefs and do them off your own back.

- build case studies. I want to know what the problem was, your thought process, how you solved it and the execution(s).

I have really struggled with making my combined PDF smaller and need to learn how to do this. I think reducing the original file sizes will help and I am going to do this. Also I do need to add case studies, especially to my website but just wanted to ensure I was focusing on finishing my degree and then when I finish I want time to apply for jobs more vigorously and update my website to the max, with everything finished.

For greater depth, you might like to read some of my past blog posts:

CV's: http://charactercreative.co.uk/blog/2016/4/14/cvs-the-basics

Porfolios: http://charactercreative.co.uk/blog/2016/4/15/portfolios-the-basics

Interviews: http://charactercreative.co.uk/blog/2016/4/15/interviews-the-basics

I hope that helps and do keep in touch - I'm super interested to see how you get on. :)

I will now edit and adjust my CV as the text is a bit crowded. I haven't heard of CV'S being landscape but this would be an easier way for employers to read my CV and make it less crowded! Also allowing more space for personal branding which I need to include.From this feedback, I am going to find a way of making a small enough good quality combined pdf to send off as I have struggled to make it smaller which is why I sent them as single files.

Realisations working on my briefs this year

-I want to work in a studio environment
With my placement I enjoyed us as the design team all working on aspects of the project and sharing feedback whilst also being enthusiastic about eachothers work as it was really rewarding to see the project bloom.

-I want to work collaboratively
With alot of my projects I have wanted to visualize them on the next level, being animated or made in to a huger project. This is something I should have tried to do but didn't want to do it badly. In future I want to work with people with a set of different skills to elevate the projects.

-I aim to work on huge briefs with my studio peers using our different strenghts/styles to the very best

-Even though I didn't meet all my deadlines too well, I had most done towards the end meaning I wasn't completing/finishing up 9/10 briefs. I never let myself get to that point as time management is a huge consideration, in terms of meeting the submission date without being overwhelmed.

-Go for it in terms of networking. Add everyone interesting, goals in terms of career paths, heads of companies, I want to follow their updates on LinkedIn and become part of their mindset to be successful!

-I'd consider art therapy in the future. Through researching for my research brief on design that impacts a persons mood, I can see in the future perhaps when I want to do something new i'd look in to how design and art can be used therapeutically as I enjoy making people feel better.

-I am proud to have a professional presence. Getting the website and finally creating my own self branding mean I can share these proudly to employers or those I am in contact with for research.

-I have people skills- so i've been told in assessments, which is really encouraging to know. As well as this I feel like my presentation skills have become less daunting for me to do therefore giving presentations with ease and confidence.

-Designing work without a brief is important as working to briefs. Keeping the passion for art in tact, and developing skills through experimentation without the pressure of client/brief.