Professional Practice & Industry Facing Materials – Chloe Snowden's Animation Blog

Creating a CV

For this latest assignment, we were tasked with composing a CV and cover letter for potential jobs. We were also asked to create a showreel highlighting our skills and also a portfolio which I have on ArtStation.

A CV is your first chance to make an impression. It showcases who you are as a person. It should be well-organised and easy to read using clear headings and bullet points. I looked at a few websites to help with the writing. (See below)

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/cv-sections

A CV can reflect the industry that you are applying for. There are many templates out there and it is difficult at times to know which to choose, or whether to design your own. The Government website indicated that it is best to use a professional font and stick to a clean and simple layout. Yet, you do want a little personality to come through in your design.

With each job application, the CV should be tailored to the specific job that is being applied for emphasising the skills and experience most relevant to the job. It should also be no more than 2 pages long, preferably one page. All jobs will have many applicants and therefore employers will have a number of CVs to trawl through so you want your CV to stand out.

The CV should include a summary or objective statement with a brief overview of your experience, in reverse chronological order, and what you bring to the table as an animator. The skills that you possess in relation to animation should be highlighted such as 2D/3D animation, character design, storyboarding, rigging etc. You should also include the software proficiency you have and include any additional skills like teamwork, time management and problem-solving, as well as highlighting your carer goals.

Contact information needs to be included along with your professional title and a brief mention of your educational qualifications including animation-related coursework or any specialised training programmes that have been completed.

A link needs to be provided for your online portfolio and showreel.

Proofreading is essential before submitting the CV to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. A CV is the first opportunity to make a positive impression on a potential employer.

Before composing my CV I had a look at some CV and cover letter templates to see which ones I liked.

Below are some of the options I looked at and considered replicating.

They all show different ways of formatting a CV and what is included. I felt that the first three all looked quite ‘business like’ and didn’t really like the over all layouts. I personally am not keen on putting a photograph on my CV so, again, that did not appeal to me. I did like the fourth one. I felt that it was simple yet elegant with an artistic flair to it so I decided I would amend this.

Below is the amended template for my CV.

The above is my first iteration of my CV. I took out the headings that I didn’t reflect my own skills and experiences and moved things around a little. I liked that this didn’t have a profile picture but used my initials in a creative script font. I initially thought about changing the colour from pink but in the end I decided to stick with it as the other colours I tried didn’t work or create the effect that I was looking for.

The above is my final iteration. I decided to make some alterations to the design. I extended the pink colour block on the left hand side of the page which I preferred and also changed the colour of the CS, my initials, to contrast with both the white and the pink.

Creating a Showreel

Showreel research

A showreel is exactly what it says! It is a short video that shows your snippets of your best animations to date. I prefer working in 2D animation so my showreel is mainly made up of 2D animations. This is the area that I really want to be applying for so it is appropriate that my showreel reflects this. I really enjoy character design and feel that this is a strength of mine.

The showreel doesn’t have to include fully completed animations these can be rough animations and show the direction in which you are going. Ideally, a showreel should be about 1 minute in length. The edits should flow smoothly and quickly into the next one in quick succession.

Below are some examples of showreels I though were good.

I wanted text animation so I watched this after effects tutorial

This is the original version and because of the title card and end car it went over 1 minute by 11 seconds

Creating a Cover Email and finding Job listings.

To accompany the CV a cover letter or email is also required. Again, I looked at a few online websites for advice on how to do this. I also wanted the style of the Cover Letter to match my CV.

A cover letter or email is something that accompanies your CV. According to the national careers advice service that the government provide there are tips for writing a cover letter.

A new cover letter should be written for every job you apply for. It should be specifically suited to the company and specific job role.
You should use the same font and size as you do for your CV, so it looks consistent.
You need to make sure the company name and recruiter’s details are correct.
You need to use the right language and tone and it is useful to match the keywords used by the employer in their job advertisement.
show you’ve done your research into the job and the company. Show that you are aware of their ethos and goals and have a vested interest.
highlight your most relevant skills and experience to stand out from other applicants
back up any statements you make with facts and use the STAR method which stands for situation – the situation you had to deal with. T= task, the task you were given to do, A=Action – the action you took and finally R = result, what happened as a result of your action and what you learned from the experience.
Always double-check spelling and grammar before you send it
keep a copy of your cover letter as they may ask you about it in an interview

As I have a diagnosis of Autism, DLD and Dyslexia I also looked up advice on whether or not that should be included on a website. As someone with a disability, it is always difficult to know when the right time is to inform someone. I don’t want to be defined by my disability or potentially face discrimination either. I looked at the information on https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/resources/telling-people-you’re-disabled-clear-and-easy-guide-students

Many people do disclose their disability in a cover letter. However, with the nature of my disability, I decided I would prefer to discuss this in a 1:1 situation if I were given the opportunity of an interview.

As a cover letter should be tailored to the job description and I went about looking at potential jobs for animation. This is the field I really want to work in. There are several ways to go about finding a job but online sites are a good place to start. With the world now being smaller and opportunities for remote working plentiful post covid, the world is now more ‘local’ than ever before. I visited anmiatonuk.org to see what they had. They have a list of companies with direct links to potential jobs. Even if there are no current jobs available they often indicate that they would be happy for you to get in contact.

I looked at A&C studios as they had opportunities for Freelance work and were offering remote work. Often there are direct links to apply on the site and opportunities to directly upload your CV and cover letter. Below is what they are looking for and also a direct link to apply online.