Having read many of my fellow BAPP Arts Students blog posts and comments on each others CVs and professional profiles I have looked at my own CV more critically and made some improvements. Paula made a great point that "they say that the employer is the audience to the CV." As performers we even have to perform on paper!!
I think it is very important for me to constantly improve my CV, keep it up to date and ensure it is presented in the best way possible for the jobs I am applying for at that specific time. It has been great to see other peoples CV's and read their ideas on layouts and content.
I was reading through Grace Hume's blog post and her feedback from Nora which was really helpful. I decided to take on some of these amendments on my own CV. Nora suggested the use of text colour on the CV to highlight important information. You want the key information to be easy to find on the page, the employer does not want to have to look frantically through 'waffle' to find what they need to know. Acting on this I have made my name at the top of the page slightly bigger in size and also changed it to blue. I have made key information including where I trained and who has trained me into bold. The headings to each section have been altered also into blue so it looks neater and more formatted.
In addition, after reading Lauren Hoskin's CV I decided it was a good idea to specifically list the dance genres I have trained and have experience in. My training in a variety of styles makes me a versatile dancer which could be of great interest to employers, so I think it is key that I highlight this. At the bottom of my CV I have added a Skills section.
Skills
Classical Ballet, Pointe, Pas de deux, Contemporary, Jazz, Gymnastics, Vocal (Mezzo Soprano), Acting.
Lauren's post also made me consider adding my playing age onto my CV for some jobs. For more classical ballet companies I do not think this information is that important. However, when I am auditioning for more musical theatre jobs I will add it on.
A discussion point amongst comments was whether or not it is better to put your personal profile and attributes on your CV or keep it in a cover letter. In the past I have just had it in a cover letter, however Paula mentioned that it is now expected to be on your CV. Some places specifically ask for a cover letter with your application, but open auditions often only take your CV and photos. So, I have decided that in cases where a cover letter is not requested I am going to add my attributes and short personal profile to the end of my CV.
I feel like I have really enriched my CV after looking at it from a professional point of view and taking on the ideas of others and what I have learnt from viewing their profiles.
Hi Rebecca, I'm glad you found my post and discussion with Nora helpful! I think the idea of a "Skills" section is great and something I might take onboard myself. I think it is important to have a look at your CV regularly and keep it up to date because it can easily be neglected. Really enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteGrace x
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteGreat changes! I agree with you and Grace and the skills section. It makes it very easy to see exactly what dance styles you are capable of performing. I don't think the playing age is very necessary to classical ballet auditions until you reach an age where you can be used for roles like Lady Capulet etc.. Then again, many ballerina's were playing 14 year old girls when they were in their late 30s! However, it is a very good idea to include it for acting jobs and musical theatre jobs. The best part about CVs is that they can be altered constantly. so if one thing is very important to one job application, one can alter the CV to display this more prominently. The layout can be altered to achieve this. For every time a CV is sent out, one has to think and try to guess what exactly they are looking for and what is most important for them to know. Based on this, one can then craft the best possible CV for that application. A profile can be general and can be used for every CV but one could have several CVs prepared to show certain skills more prominently. So a classical CV, a musical theatre CV and an Acting CV could be created, along with a CV for when between contracts and doing promotion work or bar work etc., then one is prepared for any eventuality and each CV would probably need only the most minimal editing for each application. It could save a lot of time editing and redesigning each time. Head shots and body shots can also be selected specifically to go with each of the different CVs.
Nora. :)