Notes from slides on how to make a CV
- Outline the essential criteria
- Create a blank CV and tailor it to the jobs
- Language – be assertive active and precise
- Visual priority always goes to legibility
- Hierarchy – what do you want your employer to read first? should be experience, then skill, then education then awards
- Layout and alignment – use a grid
- Keep it simple and accessible
Name -> Contact Details -> Your Role -> Portfolio Link
Personal Statement
- Short and factual
- Use first person
- Be positive and precise
- Avoid superlatives
Pros of a Creative CV
- Some skills are hard to describe without a visual element
- If done well can help your CV stand out and be memorable
- A creative approach is more personal and “heart on the line”
Cons of a Creative CV
- It is a risk and there’s a chance you could immediately stand out as a bad company fit
- You need to check the company welcomes creative CVs
- Be careful of all style no substance
- Creative CVs may not be compatible with ATS and be immediatley discarded
Top 7 CV mistakes
- Poor formatting includes small font, bad alignment, clutter etc
- Failure to tailor the CV per job
- Spelling errors
- Lying
- Lack of evidence – so back with portfolio
- Not explaining why something was done or what for
- Ignoring gaps in work history
Examples from previous years
- Really like this layout, simple but impactful. Experience with the timeline is nice
- Font is very small, hard to read
- Would have made software skills more important
- Really like this easy to read CV, everything is in a clear layout.
- Descriptions are informative but concise
- Really like the colour combinations of dark blue and white, but the contact details contains colours of the logo to draw attention
- Description font is too small to read comfortable
- Hierarchy is well applied
- Font is too small to read comfortable, feels like everything is jammed in instead of picking importance, so font is comprimised
- Greyscale is well applied and the logo is nice and not distracting
- I think this CV is very pretty but is more for a 2D illustation and wouldn’t suit a 3D artist
- Hand drawn titles and font don’t match for me
- I really like the illustratiosn and banner along the top, CV stands out without being overpowering
- Font again seems small
- Pictures on contact links is a nice touch
- Experience is writting in short bullet points
- Large Logo is a nice touch, blends well
- font is too small
- titles should be in bold or stand out more
- would rearrange the layout, hierachy seems off to me
For 2nd year we were required to submit a CV and I decided to go back and analyse it
- Name should be larger or more focused
- Pink bar at the top is too large and remove the pink bar at the bottom, makes the CV feel too enclosed
- General Skills shouldn’t be a seperate section, should be described in the experience bit
- Software skills seems to be in mid air so the whole layout needs revisted
- Personal statement is ver non-description and unethuastic
Current CV
This is the CV I have been using the past few months along with my artstation to apply for internships. After reviewing the lecture notes and previous students, I aim to make the following changes. I also asked Emma Shanks to peer review this CV so I can work on feedback
- Personal statement is better and more specific to a 3D artist but could be improved
- Remove General Skills
- Merge Portfolio and contact information
- Expand talk on work experience
- Bullet point experience into projects not paragraphs
Emma’s Feedback
New Drafts