On week 7 of this term we got into campus to learn more about the industry material we should make for future job roles. Today we learned about cover letters, communication in emails, and portfolio / showreel design.
A Cover letter is a small, page long document that complements your CV. It does into more detail about who you are, why you are applying for a job, and what you can offer to this job. It provides the employer with some more details about you and shows your professionalism.
We focused on the structure of a cover letter, what contents go into a cover letter, how to research and talk about the job were applying for in the cover letter, and other details about ourselves and why we are applying for the job. These are:
- Section 1: Explain why you are applying, what position, and if you have heard of the studio before
- Section 2: What do you have to offer? Explain specific qualifications they require
- Section 3: Thank the employer for considering you, and mention you are looking forward to hearing back from them
- Don’t use superlatives to describe yourself – can sound too unrealistic
- Be specific with your skills & qualities
- Be positive
- Don’t over design your document – a simple aligned document works
- Be truthful in your letter
- Do not copy everything from your CV, add more detail
An example of a suitable cover letter from the website Prospects.ac.uk
Source:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters/sample-cover-letter
Later on we touched on emailing an employer. Emailing is an efficient way to contact employers and services and communicate. We focused on how to address the receiver, again the structure of an email, what contents to say and how to address it.
- research the company or hiring manager you are contacting
- If no information can be found, address them by ‘Dear Hiring Manager’
- be professional – use a work email account
- Follow instructions on advertised job, specify the subject you are addressing
- Always customise your email for different employers – never copy and paste
- Link your industry materials, and let them know you have attached them
- proofread
An example of emailing your employer from the website thebalancecareers.com
Source:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/sample-email-job-application-letter-2061608
Our next topic was about portfolio design and what to include for specific job applications. There are some points to remember for building a portfolio, these are:
- present your art first – should be what a client/employer sees first
- only include your best ‘Quality over Quantity’
- Focus your portfolio to the job you’re applying for – eg. show 2D animation for a 2D animation job.
- include practicality of our work – apply correct structure in your work that would work in a real project
- Think about your role in the pipeline – think of the roles before and after your job role – make sure they work for everyone – you work as a team
- Make portfolio easy to navigate – simple buttons and limited pages. – more clicks – more problems
- Include work in progress pieces, only if the project is finished
- keep portfolio up to date
- provide contact info
An example of a portfolio website – our tutors portfolio
Source:
http://aodhanmcnicholl.com
Lastly we touched on showreels and how to present them/make them stand out well. There are points to remember for making a showreel, these are:
- To bookend your showreel – show name, contact info, role
- best work at the start and end
- short and sweet – between 30 seconds to 1-2 minutes
- edit to (copyright free) music to work on a beat – more catchy and entertaining
- trim the fat, only show what you need to
- focus your showreel based on the job role you’re applying for etc, present character animation for a character animation job
- test audience – show it to family / friends / other artists
- credit each of your shots – make them known
Example of a suitable showreel – our tutors showreel
Source:
https://ulster-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/keaney-d_ulster_ac_uk/Eep9o8IVm61MuCwMkmY5mOkBWvrhvA9G4bB4rVg-IC2Tpw?e=t9Z5iw