Tuesday, 1 March 2016

BAPP Task 1 : Professional Profile - CV

A professional profile can come in many different forms. For this particular task, however, I am taking a look at the art of CV writing and how it is an important tool for any professional.  A survey showed that on average an employer takes about 10-15 seconds to decide whether to reject or shortlist an applicant due to the quality of their CV. That is an extremely short amount of time to create a good first impression, so writing a CV is not a task to be taken lightly. At some point in their life, everyone will have to write a CV, but how many of us give it the thought it deserves? I wrote my first CV in my graduate year at Elmhurst and since then I haven't altered it much, just adding to it when necessary. Is this the thorough attention a good CV needs? My guess, is it is far from adequate!
Having read the blogs of my fellow BAPP students, I accumulated a list of questions regarding CV content and here are a couple of them:
 Is it necessary to write academic achievements and qualifications on a CV aimed at dance related jobs? - this seemed to be a question raised by several of my course mates and in my personal opinion I think they should be included. Although many of the jobs of that nature will be based on artistic talent, I still believe that a wise and intelligent dancer would be more desirable and I think it is important to show you are a rounded and academic individual. As someone who takes pride in their academic achievements, I believe it is important to show off all of your skills, however going into detail about each individual exam and grade isn't necessary - a summary is more than sufficient. Any other thoughts?
What should be included in the biography/ introduction of a CV? - Again, this is something that is often queried as I don't think there is a black and white answer. This is more down to personal opinion and in my view keeping it concise and clear of too much "waffle" is key. Highlighting personal attributes and skills is an important part of 'selling yourself' to an employer but you don't want to go overboard! Thoughts?

Right, let's get to it! I have three different CVs.. now I know that sounds a bit excessive but I have one that is aimed at ballet vacancies, one for Jazz and other dance styles and finally on for other types of employment such as retail, bar work etc. Below is a copy of my ballet CV from school, with some notes written in red, which I have made since reading those of my course mates:




Grace Elizabeth Hume 

                                                                                                                             18 --------- Avenue, Maidstone, Kent, ---------                                               grace.hume@yahoo.co.uk07*********

   

 Date of Birth: DD/MM/1996                                                      Height: 162cm
Nationality: British                                                                       Weight:  --kg

 Personal Profile:

  I have had a passion for dancing ever since I started at the age of three years old. I was a junior Associate with The Royal Ballet School, for three years before beginning vocational training at Elmhurst School for Dance in Association with The Birmingham Royal Ballet, at the age of 11. During my training, I have studied a variety of dance styles alongside the strong ballet technique such as; jazz, tap, flamenco, contemporary and national dance.  I am now working as a freelance dancer and teacher in and around London. ( mention personal attributes e.g punctuality, versatility and artistry?) I have been taught and coached by the likes of Marion Tait, Errol Pickford and Desmond Kelly. 

Education:
                                                                                                                                                            2007- 2015   Elmhurst School for Dance                                                                                                         (add currently studying BA hons in Professional Practice)                                                          National Diploma in Professional Dance                                                                                                      (add Benesh notation qualification from school)                                                                                                A levels – English Literature & Maths                                                                                                  RAD Advanced 2 – Distinction                                                                                                  Cecchetti Advanced 1 – Distinction                                                                                                          9 GCSE’s at grade A* - B (individual grades?)

Performance experience:

2015    Dancer in Lovella Ellis’ music video “I’m loving you baby”
            Dancer cirque bijou “Umbrella Project” in Oxford castle  
            Swanhilda in Coppelia (Wright) Elmhurst 10 year anniversary Rep theatre Birmingham 
            Six couples in Les Rendezvous (Ashton) Birmingham Royal Ballet tour
    Four little girls Elite Syncopations (MacMillan) Birmingham Royal Ballet tour
2014    Birds of the forest Beauty and The Beast (Bintley) Birmingham Royal Ballet tour (Sadlers Wells, Plymouth, Salford, Sunderland and Birmingham Hippodrome)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Waltz girl, Façade (Ashton) Birmingham Royal Ballet North tour (Durham, Buxton, and Shrewsbury) and the International Dance Festival (Birmingham)
            Ribbon pas de deux la Fille mal Gardée (Ashton) Birmingham Royal Ballet North tour.
            Guest Soloist Raymonda Act 3 couples Japan International Youth Ballet (Micheal Ho) and    Giselle Pas de six (Petipa)
            Flamenco dance performed at Move it and the Linbury theatre at The Royal Opera House.
2013    Principal in Scene de Ballet performed in the Elmhurst theatre (Micheal Ho)                                         
    Cygnet in Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake at the Ruddock Hall 
2012     Filmed for the new RAD Advanced 1 syllabus for the DVD (Lynn Wallis)
     Pas de Trois, Swan Lake (Wright) Finals Elmhurst Solo competition
2010     Dancer Royal Academy of Dance intermediate new syllabus piloting (Lynn Wallis) 
2009     Dancer in Mozartiana (Balanchine) Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Hippodrome
2008     Dancer in Romany Wood (Kit Holder BRB soloist) opening Theatre Severn, guest of honour
HRH Earl of Wessex
2007     Philippa of Hainault Edward II (Bintley) BRB Birmingham Hippodrome, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Sunderland Empire, Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Work Experience:

2015- present                                                                                                                                                        Private Ballet coach in Kent                                                                                                                          Ballet teacher at Prima stage school, Maidstone                                                                                       Freelance teacher and Choreographer for Dance Centre UK                                                                     2015 - 2016  Fashion assistant Laura Ashley, Maidstone 

Choreography:

2011 – Choreographed a ballet piece for 18 girls which won the audience’s choice award at the Elmhurst School for Dance choreographic competition. It was later selected to be performed in the Elmhurst Summer Show.


Competitions:

2013  Awarded Runner Up for the Fewster Cecchetti Scholarship in London judged by Dame Monica Mason and David Bintley.
2014 I won a scholarship to represent the UK at the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition in Richmond, Virginia where I was awarded a scholarship to a summer intensive in Portland, Oregon. 

So there you have it, my CV! I am going to make some alterations to it, particularly adding in my notes in red. Please comment tips and advice as I'm certainly no CV writing expert.
 Enjoy!








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5 comments:

  1. Unknown1 March 2016 at 17:04

    Hi Grace,

    (comment part 1)

    Loved reading your Blog. Sorry about your bad luck and I hope that your ankle heals well and that Lady Luck is on your side from now on! Great about solving your pupils knees. I'm sure she is working very hard on stretching her hamstrings now. Good job! :)

    About your CV, It's a great start and it is full of excellent work but it is not so clear to read in 10 to 15 seconds. You have stated that that is all the time one has to get someone to read a CV and have a positive first impression. Can you read all the necessary information in 10 to 15 seconds?

    The photo at the start of the CV is a great attention grabber and keeps what you look like in mind. :) First thing I noticed. You could have a bigger sized font for your name perhaps as you are selling yourself by your name and yours is off to the side and smallish. You want people to remember your name.

    Perhaps you could make things a bit clearer in terms of layout? For example you height is displayed on the right and the corresponding information is on the left. It might perhaps be better to display you're height in the same format as your date of birth. Also your height and weight displayed next to each other without your nationality between them could make things easier for an employer to take note of. Colour also helps to highlight important information. You could use a different colour for the headings of each section perhaps to draw peoples attention to the various parts of your CV.

    You could list your School (Normal school) at the start and include your examination results after your Experience section. You can list your Dance examinations at the end too because, compared to your work experience, they are not really as important. It is perhaps easier to list all the subjects you took and state that all of them were grade B to A*. If a specific job requires excellent skills in English for example, and one got an A* for English then it might be better to state the grades individually to show one in the best possible light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown2 March 2016 at 07:41

      Hi Nora :-)
      thank you so much for all your feedback, it's really helpful! I completely agree that the layout can do with a bit of attention and perhaps it is a little hard to navigate. I'm definitely going to put what you've said into action and get tidying! It's great to get advice from others and I look forward to reading about yours. I don't think I've ever really put enough time and attention into my CV so now is as good a time as any to sort it out.
      Just a question really, do you think it is important in the personal profile at the bottom to mention my attributes or do you think that's better off in a cover letter?
      Thanks again Nora and I look forward to reading your stuff too!
      Grace x

      Delete
    2. Unknown7 March 2016 at 02:21

      Hi Grace,
      Glad you found my comment(s) helpful. You're edited version looks great! :).
      As Paula says a profile is now expected on a CV. If it is online then I think it is best to be as detailed as possible because it can be viewed at anytime by anyone so all the information needs to be there all the time. Something I need to consider about my own CV. But if it is being emailed or paper, one can tailor each CV and profile to suit each individual application. If they ask for a covering letter, they usually ask "what can you bring to our company?". In which case one can use a very detailed covering letter including details about punctuality, reliability, any skills that would be very useful to them etc. Then the Cv's personal profile would not need to mention these details but could mention others not so vital to the company but still necessary skills. I think the details would have to be balanced between the covering letter and personal profile. What do you think?
      Nora :)

      Delete
  2. Unknown1 March 2016 at 17:05

    (comment part 2)

    Your personal profile might be better displayed at the end as a closer rather than an opener if you need to display it at all on a CV. A lot of companies ask for a covering letter to be sent with one's CV detailing why one wants to work for them and what one could bring to their company. Perhaps that would be a better place to put a personal profile? If they don't ask for a covering letter than the end of the CV keeps it out of the way of the vital information that an employer is looking for. To be honest, when I read your CV, I totally missed out your personal profile to look at where you had been trained, by whom, what your experience was. Only after I had read all the important information did I return to your Personal Profile and I saw information in it that was vital, like being trained by Marion Tait and what dance styles etc. It might be better to remove this from your personal profile and add it to your CV. Where you have put that you trained at Elmhurst is perhaps where you can add who you have been trained by and what you have been trained in. It is a good place to add that you were a Royal Ballet Associate and list your teachers there too.

    In terms of your experience, it could be better to put your work experience first as this proves that you are more than capable of working because you have already done it.

    You have a lot of performance work. :) It might be clearer to list the company as a sub header and then the dates and the work done as well as making it into less of a conversation, "I performed xxxx for xxxxxx at the xxxxxx."
    I did a little example to better explain what I mean,
    Experience - Work:
    2015 – Present – Private Ballet Coach, Kent
    - Prima Stage School, Maidstone – Ballet Teacher
    - Dance Centre UK – Freelance Teacher And Choreographer
    - Laura Ashley, Maidstone – Fashion Assistant
    Experience - Stage Performances:
    2015– Cirque Bijou – Dancer – “Umbrella Project”
    Elmhurst:
    2015 - “ Coppelia”; “Swanhilda” Choreography Wright
    2013 – “Scene De Ballet”; principal – Choreography Michael Ho
    20?? –
    Birmingham Royal Ballet:
    2009 – “Mozartiana”; dancer – Choreography Balanchine
    2007 – “Hainault Edward II”; “Philippa” – Choreography Bintley
    20?? -
    Birmingham Royal Ballet Tour:
    2015 - “Les Rendezvous”; “Six Couples” – Choreography Wright
    - “Elite Syncopations”; “Four Little Girls” – Choreography Macmillian
    2014 – “Beauty And The Beast”; “Bird Of The Forest” – Choreography Bintley
    20?? -
    Experience - Film Performances:
    2015 – Dancer – “I’m loving you Baby” – Music Video – Lovella Elis
    2012 - RAD Advanced 1 Syllabus – DVD – Lynn Wallis
    Experience – Choreography:
    2011 – Elmhurst School For Dance – (name of ballet piece for 18 girls)
    Competitions:
    2014 – Competition in Richmond, Virginia (name?) awarded Summer intensive in Portland, Oregon
    - Schollarship to represent the UK at Cecchetti International Classical Ballet
    2013 - Runner Up – Fewster Ccchetti Scholarship
    - Audiences choic to Perform “name of 18 girl ballet piece” at Elmhurst Summer School

    Hope this is helpful to you. Sorry it is long! :( I am now going to do some work on my own CV. There were lots of things that I had missed off and have now added, like my education, and there is still room for improvement. I agree with you that stating one's education is important because I'm sure that if two dancers were identical in every way artistically then displaying one's educational qualifications could just give one that extra pro to get the job.

    Nora :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paula Nottingham5 March 2016 at 04:45

    Grace, good to see the task being a point of discussion - CVs do have different factors - creative CVs often list accomplishments - when I was taught originally for a visual arts CV it did not include a profile - but as discussed - that is now a personal touch that is expected...

    ReplyDelete

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