CVs

Your CV is the first thing that will be looked at in the hiring process. Therefore, you need to make sure yours stands out, while still remaining professional. Typically, when a position opens, your application will be among many, and the person reviewing them all won’t be reading through and analysing each one. You need to make sure the information is relevant, and that you hook the person reading yours and draw them in to read further.

The internet is full of advice on how to write a good CV, but I think it’s important to consider the type of job you’re applying to. As we are in a creative industry, one would expect a more creative CV would be more acceptable than when applying for, for example, a business position or something with different standards. The company itself also needs to be taken into consideration, what are their values and what they themselves look for in a CV and in an applicant.

When researching animator CVs these two stood out to me. I think they’re very personalised and creative, with bright colours and easily readable layouts that don’t scare the reader away with massive walls of text like some of the other examples I have found. I feel as though with mine, I will dive further into the skills that I have developed through my past experiences, as I feel like although visually these CVs are appealing, I would like to give more information in mine.

My CV that I used for all of my previous jobs is very general, very long and not very visually interesting. I go into detail about my roles and responsibilities, but not much of that will be appliable here as when using this old CV, I was applying to part time, customer service jobs that didn’t need any real specifications or qualifications like starting a career in animation. In my new CV I will have to tailor it properly to the industry that I intend to enter, showcasing my knowledge of different software and techniques.

I started with looking through some of the vary many CV templates available online, and found one that was professional, but still had a little more colour and interest than my previous. I don’t have any real industry relevant experience outside of university and some freelance, so I included my current job as well, as I believe it still demonstrates certain relevant skills and expertise. I also opted to not include my A levels or GCSEs as they are not relevant to this position either. I studied mainly science and language, and have the languages I can speak listed, so I didn’t think it necessary to use up more space and time on things that the potential employer won’t really care about.

I think visually I could still make things more interesting and personalised, and it is still rather long. I get very caught up in professionalism when writing CVs and job applications, but I still feel it is an improvement on my previous CV.

Cover E-Mail

Writing a cover letter or E-Mail to the company that you are applying to makes your application much more personal, and gives you the opportunity to show your enthusiasm or why you have applied to the position. It is a short paragraph to help you sell yourself and show you are passionate, and persuade your prospective employer to consider you for the role beyond an impersonal professional CV. It shows you have taken the care and time to consider the company personally, rather than firing off applications to whatever position happens to be open. A strong cover letter will be one of the first impressions of you, so it’s important to make it a good one!

I spent some time looking into how to write a cover letter. Interestingly, the UK government has a webpage for giving tips on this matter. They advise showing your enthusiasm, why you are fit for the role, and that you have knowledge of the company and their work. They also recommend using “The Star Method.”

• Situation – the situation you had to deal with
• Task – the task you were given to do
• Action – the action you took
• Result – what happened as a result of your action and what you learned from the experience

You can use the STAR method to structure the examples you give to questions, especially in interviews.

A job description lists the skills and qualities the employer is looking for. You can use the STAR method to show how you meet these. (National Careers Service, 2024)

For this assignment, I decided to write my cover letter for a company I am VERY interested in working for, Ambertail Games. I love their art, I love dinosaurs, I know I could make assets that could fit perfectly with their style and I spoke with two people from their team at a networking event. Everything they spoke about was very appealing to me, and they seemed like such a lovely team!

Their website, with info and job listings-

Home | Ambertail Games

I first figured out who to address my cover letter to, and found the name of the Operations Director, and the person posting job listings online. Making my letter out to him shows I took the time to research them and their team.

Showreel

I found a great website with advice on a proper demo reel.

Creating an Animation Demo Reel – The Complete Guide

They spoke about things I already knew- keep it short, showcase your skills, include your best work- but also some helpful reminders such as to properly label what you did in each clip, and to be original- things like walk cycles and bouncing balls are basic and everybody has done one, try to include more unique or complicated things to really stand out. You should put your best work first, and if you’re not sure if you should include something or not, either leave it out or polish it until you are certain. (Meroz, 2013)

There are also some wonderful and inspiring examples online!

Putting mine together was somewhat frustrating. I had no previous experience in anything 3D or animation related, so I only really had my coursework to use for this. My main issue is that as I have been learning from zero knowledge to where I am now, I have been improving relatively quickly, so all of my previous work feels like it isn’t up to standard. I felt as though I had nothing to include, as when I am looking back at it, I see so many flaws and issues that I didn’t at the time.

After this assignment, for the sake of applying for placements and future jobs, I will be doing a lot of editing and clean-up, but as I have been so busy with assignment deadlines, I didn’t have time to fix all that I wanted to. I struggle to find time to work on my personal projects while managing coursework, my job, living alone and spending time on personal matters such as helping to look after my grandmother, so any unique, creative or original personal projects I would have liked to include just aren’t anywhere near ready to be shown as my best work. Over the next month or so, I hope to make up for this, as I will have more time to focus on producing high quality work, and work tailored to the companies that I would like to apply for. I will also try to increase my social media presence, and develop some sort of online portfolio, I have been held back from this by a lack of confidence in my work, which I hope to conquer by putting as much time and effort into the personal projects that inspire me as I can!

References