Task 1a) Continued.....

Profiles can include a general overview of your experience, your passions, your skills and of you as an individual. CV's however are directed more to a particular profession and this can be rather difficult for a self employed practitioner in the arts, particularly if you work in various different roles within the industry. I personally have 3 CV's that I use on a regular basis and alter slightly depending on the job description. I have a: performance cv (as seen previously), teaching cv and a mortal cv. Now this doesn't mean you can't cross information. For example, on my mortal CV I would of course mention the teaching that I have done as it suggests good leadership skills, communication skills, planning, organisation and various other qualities. I would be more selective in this area so that I can include the retail experience I've had, the bar job I worked through college and several other bits. Having 1 cv alone would prove extremely difficult and require much more time to make alterations. Having 3 that are tailored certainly helps the process when applying for work. Depending on the job, it may even be that I'd send more than 1 for their perusal, particularly as my experience increases lengthening my CV's. Please see examples of my teaching CV and mortal CV below:

TEACHING CV

MORTAL CV

     

 
I think both of the CV's above have room for improvement. After looking at my peers' blogs I can see that it would be extremely useful to mention the responsibilities included in some of the roles I have fulfilled and to talk about specific skills that they may require or which I have learned during the job. I have decided to think about an opening/closing statement to give a brief profile of myself, this in order to express some personality within my CV. If you can, I think it is really important to try and give employers a sense of the person behind what they are reading; and doing so is a very clever move. What sets you apart from the others? The fact that you are you of course! If 10 people have the same qualifications, 5 of them might have the experience, 3 have taken care in the presentation and aesthetics let's say, but there's only 1 of you. Think about your manner and although you want it to sound professional, keep it real to you and how you would speak. Try and steer away from generic terms and stilted sentences. Show that you are communicative and interesting.


Often, if you are writing to agents or applying to particular job posts, it is good to have a covering letter that briefly outlines what you are actually applying for and what you are enclosing within your email or envelope. This will be the first thing the viewer sees so it should be clear, aesthetically pleasing and to the point. Please see an example of mine below:

As I've mentioned previously, there are lots of other things that we as dancers can use in order to enhance our application in addition to the CV. If you have an apple device then there are some great apps that you can use to give yourself the basic tools in creating a showreel and voice reel. I have found iMovie to be very useful as you can input videos, songs and photos at ease in order to create a whole reel. There are basic editing tools which you can apply to fade in/out, add text etc. As someone who I consider to have had average skills up to now in technology, I can assure you it's extremely accessible and straightforward. It allows you to whip something up at speed and with virtually no cost to set you in good stead when entering the working world. The more material you have, the better. It is essential, in the commercial dance world particularly, to have some sort of showreel. People are very loyal in that field and if you are new, or you don't have the connections from previous experiences, a showreel could be your way in. Similarly, if you are applying for agent representation then they like to be able to see you performing in a production. Unfortunately that can't always be the case but if you have footage, it's a huge advantage. 

I don't ever claim to be a straight singer and would never apply for posts that only require vocals, this is why I don't actually have a voice reel. However, singing is essential in the musical theatre industry and I am capable. The app titled 'garage band' has been of great use to me in singing auditions. I'm lucky that I have been able to learn how to and can competently read music; and this application allows you to play a virtual keyboard as well as record. Through garage band I am able to find my starting note in order to practise and play though any sections that are troubling me before a vocal call. This in addition to recorded voice notes, prove incredibly useful.

(Anyon who is interested in recording and creating professional demos, my step brother owns and runs a recording studio/rehearsal room in Sheffield - click on the link to check out his website and contact details for further info http://www.redfernstudios.com)

The fantastic thing with both of the above applications is that once you have created a project, you have the option to instantly upload it or share it through the various Web 2.0 platforms. They work collectively with social media platforms. It gets your material out there, directly from your device and in no time at all. I made a very short video on iMovie and uploaded it instantly to Facebook, within 1 hour I already had over 200 views - the power of social media!

Talking of useful apps, this one is efficient once within the working world- post CV & seeking employment. Key note has proved to be a god send to me as a swing. I can create my bible through a power point format including videos of choreography, images of positions, diagrams, text etc so that I can carry it around with me and update it as often as I want- without lugging giant folders and having to re-write pages of information. Key note is my saviour!