For this assignment, we were asked to create a cv, cover email and showreel to be able to send to potential employers. Below is my research into how to make sure my cv, cover email and showreel look good and presentable.

CV:

In order to create a good cv, there are a couple of key things to keep in mind. A cv should have a strong start to it in order to capture the employer’s eye; it is best to start with a short summary of your main accomplishments and skills that you have. This should help grab the employer’s attention from the get go. Another thing to keep in mind is to tailor your cv for the job you’re wanting; within your cv, show how you are the right candidate for the job that’s being offered. The best way to do this is to relate your skills and/or accomplishments to the aspects of the job role being offered. Another aspect to include within your cv is to accentuate your personal development; to show how you’ve grown and developed within past roles you have had. This will show to the employer how you’ve learned from previous roles and shows that you’re willing to learn more and expand your current skill set. When creating your cv it’s best to keep it clean and concise; it shouldn’t be overly flashy or cluttered with too much text, you should make sure it’s streamlined to show off your experience well. It is also best to use data when possible to show more specifically how you may have impacted a previous work space, like processes improved on or people you interacted with and the specific data points that go along with them. A cv should be no more than 2 pages long as it should only include the most important and necessary information needed to show off your skills and expertise while showing how you are the right person for the job that you’re applying for. To sum things up, keep your cv concise and only including the most relevant information about yourself, your abilities and your previous work/education.

Cover email:

When it comes to writing your cover email for your job application, it is best to start out with a strong lead. This gives you an opportunity to provoke an emotional response from the employer. If possible, you could use an anecdote from your personal life as it will assert your interest and understanding of the company and will also make you out to be a likable person who has a honest connection to the work being offered. Once you have made your strong start of your cover email, it’s best to give proof that you have the skills needed for the job position being offered. To do this, it’s best to be able to provide a couple key points showing that you fully understand what it is that the company requires and how your skills match that. The best way to show this understanding is to look into the job position in more detail then specify each skill or ability that they’re looking for and include proof of how you have that skill or ability that they require. To end your cover email after you have finished stating the skills you have that match their needs, it is best to be confident and friendly but not pushy. Another thing to consider while writing your cover email is to make sure it’s brief and not overly long. It is best to keep your cover letter under a page long; using direct and concise language can help with getting your point across swiftly without an excessive amount of text being needed. To make writing concisely easier, you could start by writing an outline of everything you want to say within your cover email. Once you have set out all the information, you might find points that you don’t necessarily need to get the information you want across and it can help you avoid repeating information you have already said. In short, it’s ideal to keep your cover email short and to the point without any unnecessary information.

Showreel:

Along with your cv and cover email, it’s best to send your most up to date showreel so that the employer can get an idea of the work you do. When making your showreel, it’s ideal to make it eye catching from the get go especially since you only have a few minutes to show off your most current work. That being said, you should put the best work you have, what you are most proud of, first within your showreel as it helps give a good first impression to the employer watching it. It’s best to start out strong with your showreel. When it comes to deciding what to include in your showreel, you should add what you’re completely certain about showing. If you are at all uncertain about a piece of work, there’s probably a good reason for that doubt so it is best to leave those pieces of work out of your showreel. Don’t worry if you’re not great at editing or music, it’s better to let your work speak for itself. Focus more on the contents of your showreel as opposed to the music that will be in the background. One thing to keep in mind when putting together your showreel, you should tailor your showreel to what company you plan to apply to work for. Use your strengths to help tailor your work. If your adding work you created that was apart of a group project, you should specify what aspect of the group project you did as an annotation on that piece of work within your showreel. Your showreel should have a title card which has your name and contact details. You should keep it simple and not overcomplicate it as the title card only serves to introduce who you are and your showreel, nothing more. Another thing to keep in mind when creating your showreel is to keep it professional, avoid including anything offensive or inappropriate as you wouldn’t want to risk offending the employer with something you might find funny but that’s on the risqué. You want to give the impression that you are a professional individual. You should be mindful of animation trends as you don’t want to add something to your showreel that hundreds of others will be including; vary what you include in order to show your range of animation abilities. It’s ideal to try and make your showreel unique compared to other showreels out there.

 

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