CV’s:

The difference between a good and bad CV often depends on the context of the job you are applying to as there are numerous resources available to aid in the design and creation of a CV from viewing creator CV’s that are in the same field you are going into to Asset builder websites such as CV Library which over a more general consensus of the themes and content you need to include.

 

Before making a start on my new CV I knew I needed to better understand what made a good CV and how I can make it appealing yet informative. I looked back at ones I had made in the past with a more critical eye as to what I thought worked well and then cross referenced them with industry professionals  with one in particular belonging to Florian Brauch an animator at framestore studios I had originally found his work through his student short film Titled “Hybrids”. Florian had a rather unorthodox approach to his CV as it left such a relaxed feel but conveyed everything I needed to know about his experience and job history and education. His approach left me constantly revisiting his example as it was so straight to the point (I did need to make some major differences if I was going to make this fit my style and design).

 

Having been in a position where I have been somewhat involved with the sorting and hiring process (for retails and fast food jobs) I knew both what stands out and can look obnoxious on a CV in terms of colour scheme. While a creative industry job should have a CV that reflects such I decided for a minimalist approach as I wasn’t entirely sure I should commit to a colour scheme as I feel that is something that could help with some personalization between jobs as I feel that your 

CV should be an eye catch before any Colours or images so that once they are added they really sell the design. I began with a rehaul of the layout as well as the font sizing for the more important pieces so they could be noticed immediately. I Used Florian’s layout with the larger name and title of character animator in bold to really catch the possible employers eye.

I then moved onto the information of education, through suggestion and once again referencing Mr. Brauch’s CV I decided to only list my highest levels of education as it helped keep the CV neat and concise because the rest of my qualifications can simply be explained if needed. 

 

Cover Emails:

https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-professional-email

A good Cover Email has very simple points to follow: 

• A sense of identity and direction (Know who you are writing to or clarify the intended audience, To Whom it may concern, Dear hiring manager, employer’s name etc.).
• Concise information that states the purpose of the email.
• Proof read your emails (Emails lack a lot of professionalism if they have punctuation and spelling mistakes)
• Follow proper business etiquette by starting and ending with pleasantries

 

As you can see from my email I looked through LinkedIn and found a listing for a different job at Enter Yes which states Vicki is the Co-Director but it is her contact information for applying. Knowing this made the email template feel a lot more personal, Enter Yes is a VFX company that offers many different positions given the varying amount of projects they work on and in particular they are working on a project called SilverPoint which has caught my interest due to the different levels of character models they use (and need animators for) such as a T-Rex, Mermaid, Robot etc.

To further my email I looked into the other projects Enter Yes has been working on such as ONAR which is a game currently in process of development, being in the gameplay testing stage. By looking into the game I know they would benefit from someone who is able to work between a range of programmes and I used this section to show my enthusiasm for learning while still focusing my attention on the “Animator position”.

I wrote the email under the premise of just completing the course at Ulster University as by clarifying I am looking for full time work it also works in my favour as the company knows I can work any length of contract without having my attention torn between education. Enter Yes was advertising for a junior animator before I started my search for jobs with one of the criteria stating an enthusiasm for animating. I took this point and made it very evident throughout my email because my love of animation has been a major part of my life for years.

Showreels:

Showreels are often the most important display of your work especially for animators, while in other fields like modelling showing off all of your work can often be a detrimental thing as you should be showing off mainly your best work, Given the lack of animating work I have created I made a more generalist showreel which allows me to talk about all aspects of my experience and link them back to animating in one way or another. Showreels should immediately start off with a title card clarifying who you are and your contact information this allows those who are seeking you out to get into contact with you then with either your best or most recent work (often they can overlap). Music is another important piece in a showreel as it will not only set the tone of the showreel but also the type of work you are wanting to or able to work on as a heavy rock background with monster and robot creatures will be less likely to get hired on a kids show etc. (Although that wouldn’t rule out that type of showreel entirely).

I had originally sourced out a royalty free song that I edited my showreel to which resulted in edits that changed as the beat rose and fell creating a more indepth edit that flowed smoothly and felt consistent which is good practice as this will attract both fans of that style of editing and keep audience attention span. I did however need to remove the song due to a copyright strike which popped up even though I verified through the filmstro website it was royalty free and youtube shouldnt have flagged it. In an effort to get it uploaded I removed the sound and the original can be seen in an unlisted video format here: https://youtu.be/PO8nQ_-BvGw 

 

Other things to consider Job Hunting

Job hunting has became rather easy over the last few years with so many websites being Taylor made to find a job in your field such as Indeed, GlassDoor, JobsNI to name a few. This has meant company’s are posting to every site imaginable in hopes they will fill the positions quickly, the draw back to this however is that the sheer visibility of these jobs means that more people than ever are applying which is why so many companies have a shortlisting process before any interviews even take place. Preparation for a job interview also somewhat varies between jobs as depending on the company and role you are applying for such as a big business firm might expect you to wear a full suit whereas an art based job like animation might be fine with more casual attire (although some companies may still expect business casual or regular business attire). This is usually one of the first questions many employees ask during the phone interview stages but due to recent events like the pandemic and more companies preferring Skype, Zoom or Discord as their interview process, the attire has become more relaxed (more casual to a degree of flexibility). Many people can also prepare for their interviews by using LinkedIn which is the best for creating industry based connections that make you stand out more and more as you can reach out to businesses through mutual contacts and make connections with those in leading roles etc. Such as my LinkedIn featuring the names of people working for EnterYes, Jam Media and YellowMoon which might make me stand out more compared to those without any connections etc.