PC3: Competitions and Creative CVs

Enter competitions is another tool of marketing that people would see you and your practice. Most prizes are in the form of grants so everyone has the chance to win the money. Majority requirement of entering competitions is 5-20 images and a piece of writing statement.

There are competitions in every discipline, so ensure to choose the right competition that is suitable for your work and to avoid wasting time in progress. Do some research to look at major competitions, read through their discipline carefully, don’t miss any small words as they might have core details on it. If you are eligible to meet their criteria then do, if not, try to find another one. There always are some competitions that suits you. Get someone to help you, someone you trust or someone who don't know about your work. Print your images down and play around sequence to define the content and essence of the work. Showing your motivation in your writing proposal, clearly pointing out what you have done on your research to support your work.

It’s always good to enter competitions so that you have gained different response from other voices on your project. These feedback help you to reflect on your subject. I looked at some competitions relate to book art, which I think it’s time to be brave and fearless to showcase my finished book outside of the world. For me, entering a book art competition is more like sharing what I have done for book making and convey my thought of book as an art object that can be in experimental and playful form to present.

A CV is a marketing tool, its promoting skills, attributes, achievements, knowledge and experience. It is often the key to unlocking opportunities and experiences, and requires time and energy to make it as strong as it can be. The benefit of a creative CV means that you have a degree of freedom in how you market yourself. Typically, creative CVs might be one page in length, but it may also be considered creative if it comprises: makes effective use of colour, incorporates images of work, uses an alternative layout, uses infographic elements like logos and symbols. Additionally, presenting a CV in 3D format, using 2D materials like other than paper, creating in video format.

If the opportunity isn’t particularly creative, it is important to question the value of creating a creative CV. It may be a little unusual to use a creative CV to apply for a non-creative job. If the opportunity is creative, study the job description to understand what skills and experience the organisation is looking for. Think about how you might be able to reflect these in a creative CV. There is no one style of CV that will be relevant for all opportunities. If you are going to be strategic in your thinking, the it is good practice to think about the purpose for which you wish to use a CV, before deciding on the CV style that is most relevant as you may also need more than one version of your CV.

Any creative CV you develop needs to market yourself and show off your creative talents. Be aware that if you are applying for a creative opportunity using a creative CV then organisations are likely to scrutinise it that much more. For example, if you are applying for a photography role but your CV includes poor quality images, you are unlikely to be shortlisted for interview.

Regarding creating a creative CV, the idea of a creative CV Is that it is unique to you so avoiding using an online creative CV template. Where including any links to online portfolios, showreels, bogs and websites, make sure the links work and that your platforms are up-up-date and professional. Considering the design of CV as ‘brand’. It is important that the ‘banding’ of CV is consistent with your other professional platforms, websites and online portfolios. Finally, it is essential that the information in your CV is easy to find and easy to read. Often employers spend just a few seconds taking an initial look at a CV. If it is not easy for them to find the information they need, then they are likely to disregard it.

It’s core that analysing job description and review the website which enables you to get a sense of how you present yourself. To get their attention, I think mirroring the language by using words from the job description would be a good idea shows you are matching the missing puzzle. Besides, find people you trust to look through your CV is helpful as it's hard to fine the balance like sometimes you might go too detail. Basically is creating an attractive layout, I think if I can’t work with its design, I might get someone knows graphic design to help me working on the layout to edit highlights. However, before making a successful CVs, I would gain more experience to evidence my ability so the value can be added into the content and information.

Reference:

Artquestorguk. 2019. Artist CV. [Online]. [12 March 2019]. Available from: https://www.artquest.org.uk/how-to-articles/artist-cv/