Lighting CV

[Gazlights]

Hello folks! Just a quick question for you!

 

Due to the 'blue screen of death' and me loosing all of my important documents on my home computer I am re-finding all my info and re-designing my CV....

 

At the moment I've got personal details, education, current employment, past employment, training courses, lighting desk and equipment experience....but I cant think of any other relevant info to put on there! what do you reckon? Have I missed something?

 

As an employer what other information would you look for?

[Just Some Bloke]

That would be enough for me. Keep it short and sweet. Don't let them get bored!

[TallPaul]

I've always been taught to add a little information about other non-technical interests/hobbies you may have since this shows you to be a well rounded individual. Also definately agree with Just Some Bloke, keep the CV to no more than 2 sides of A4. If an employer has 100 CVs to read, they might only spend 30 seconds on each before choosing a selection to interview. You need to sell yourself within that 30 seconds.

[bruce]

As above, short and sweet. Maybe a few outside interests, but don't go over the top. Don't use silly typefaces or coloured paper. Don't lie. Make it look "professional", whatever that means :P

 

First impressions matter.

 

The CV has only one purpose - to get you through the door to interview. After that, it's of little relevance.

 

Bruce.

[andy_s]

All advice pretty good so far - keep it concise, but don't cramp it all up - lay it out on the page as clearly as you can.

 

Also, do your 2 sides of A4 on seperate sheets, not double-sided, - makes it easier to photocopy for distribution to the interview panel.

 

in terms of contents, you've got it well covered, but I wouldn't necessarily dwell too heavily on the "lighting desk and equipment" lists - it should be clear by the jobs / courses you've done what kind of kit you've worked with. If the advert says something like "experience in 520 plotting", or "familiarity with Wholehog", then you can draw attention to these skills in the covering letter.

 

If you are sending CVs out on spec, then the "avoiding long lists" rule applies in spades - production managers are even less likely to read long CVs carefully if they haven't actually asked you to send it in...

 

I hope this doesn't appear cynical - I do read CVs that are sent to us, and I do file them, and I do even occasionally remember them, or pass them on to colleagues who are looking for staff. It's just that I can only afford to spend a fairly small proportion of my time on it...

[skdean]

I usually modify my cv to match the job description. Arn't computers wonderful

[ben.suffolk]

....keep the CV to no more than 2 sides of A4.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I once had somebody send me a CV that was 18 pages long!!!!! Needless to say I didn't read them all, and no he didn't get an interview either.

 

Ben

[bruce]

... I wouldn't necessarily dwell too heavily on the "lighting desk and equipment" lists - it should be clear by the jobs / courses you've done what kind of kit you've worked with.

 

In general good advice, but it may depend on the nature of the job.

 

To draw an analogy, if you were applying for a job as a van driver, you wouldn't state that you had "extensive experience of the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter" - you'd just say you had van driving experience.

 

If, on the other hand, you were applying to a Ford or Merc garage for a van mechanic position, then naming the specific vans would be more relevant.

 

But there are no hard and fast rules in this game :)

 

Bruce.

[Just Some Bloke]

I recently received a so-called "cv" from someone who's done sound on a few amateur shows at my venue and would like to work on pro shows as a casual. No problem in that, you'd think.

 

But the "cv" is actually a 3-page letter beginning "Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to see if there is a place to work or train with your company". This is someone who handed me the letter personally, very eager to work here. For goodness sake, if you know what job you want then use the relevant person's name and, especially, the name of the venue not "your company". Secondly, if you're calling it a cv you really ought to know what a cv is. This guy is 19, has sent a well-presented letter with no spelling or grammar mistakes, but doesn't know what a cv is and ends the letter "my parents will be happy to speak to you at any time". Yes, that's right, he's 19! I despair sometimes!

[sam.henderson]

To draw an analogy, if you were applying for a job as a van driver, you wouldn't state that you had "extensive experience of the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter" - you'd just say you had van driving experience.

 

If, on the other hand, you were applying to a Ford or Merc garage for a van mechanic position, then naming the specific vans would be more relevant.

 

But there are no hard and fast rules in this game smile.gif

 

Bruce.

 

I agree, I have prepared a few CV's and Portfolios for different Theatre Companies recently and I try to stay away from saying things like: I am a whole hog programmer, used martin mac 2000's etc. I summerise and say things like "I have experiance with a varity of Moving Lights and Scanners as well as Industry Standard DMX consoles.

 

Have a look in the Training and Qualifications Forum there is a large topic there on CV writing.

 

Sam

[Jivemaster]

There are two types of CV, those directed in response to an advertisment, and those for sending on spec.

 

They should both be factually accurate and you should write your own, -If you dont live up to the style at interview....

 

A spec CV should sell you in 10 seconds reading time as pleasant, skilled and competant, then you get another 10 seconds to name your skills. This CV can target the next job on your chosen carreer path.

 

A CV in response, is expected so has slightly more time, but has a tighter target, -- the advertised job or role. Emphasise how you fit their person spec and job key features.

 

There is no such thing as a perfect CV as your CV may sell you well for some jobs but sell you short for others. Probably it's best to have some usefull paragraphs and then assemble a CV for each chosen purpose.

[sam.henderson]

Just dragging a old topic back up!!

 

I have now seperated my CV (on spec) into two, one for Stage Management and one for Lighting Design and Production Electrics. Just wondering if people thought this is a good idea or if I should combine them. In each one I make referance to my skills in the other area. What are people, especially those who read CVs a lot, thoughts??

 

Cheers,

 

Sam

[DSA]

As stated in Jivemaster's post if this is going out on spec then you need to be fairly general. We have been told to rewrite (to a certain extent) each CV for each new company. And you do not want to send out 3 bits of paper to each employer - they will not understand why there are 2 CVs. A single sheet of A4 paper should say it all - accompanied by a covering letter to explain why they are looking at it.

 

My first reaction was that you cannot be superb at both stage management and lighting design. You will be better at one than the other. Decide, and then write the CV with that in mind. However I would swap the disciplines around depending on what youare aiming for.

 

At the end of the day the CV is there to get you the next stage: an interview. Don't lie or you will find yourself in trouble.

 

So, in answer to your question I would certainly combine them for an on spec application, and would be much more specific if replying to an advert etc.

 

But then again I am still at University, so what do I know!

 

David

[Just Some Bloke]

In a post earlier in this thread I make the point that if you know what job you want, you should tailor your application to that job. I pointed out that starting "Dear Sir/Madam" when you know the Production Manager personally is not good and writing "I'm looking for a job in your company" rather than using the venue name is calculated to lose you the job (as it did for the applicant mentioned above, by the way).

 

In the same vain, I'd agree with DSA: if you are going for a job as a lighting person then your CV needs to say "I am a lighting person". If you're going for a job as a Stage Manager your CV needs to say "I am a Stage Manager". If you arelooking for any old job in a venue your CV needs to say "I can do both lighting and Stage Management". Tailor the CV to the job as much as possible.

 

Likewise, if you are sent a Person Specification then tailor the covering letter to fit the person specification. If they are looking for someone reliable, for instance, specifically say in your letter "I am reliable". You may wonder why this is so important. The reason is this: businesses nowadays need to justify their actions more and more. When they don't appoint someone to a job they don't want that person suing them because they got overlooked when obviously, to them, they were the best person for the job. So they have the shortlisters/interviewers fill in forms saying why they didn't pick a person and these are based on both the Job Description and the Person Specification. If you don't say your're reliable, then they can tick the box to say you weren't picked for shortlist as you're not reliable. They picked someone who is reliable - they must be because they said so in their covering letter! The more you can parrot back to them what they are asking for (e.g. "We are looking for someone who is an honest, reliable, hard-working technician who can do both lighting and satge management": "I am an honest, reliable, hard-working techncian who can do both lighting and stage management") the more boxes they can tick next to your name. That gets you to the interview and the next bit is up to you! ;)