#Life of a #Freelancer Part 40
Tailored to suit ... Ever wondered why you never get any replies back from employers after you send hundreds of emails with your CV attached? Well I do, always! It heartbreaking when you spend time sending cover notes and nothing comes back, you end up asking yourself, is it me? The answer is ... Yes it is you!!! Or in this case its me. Why do I say this, well ... I have been attending a mentoring/workshop course since July 2015. This is a free course for professional freelancers like myself struggling to get in the industry or find full-time stable work. This place is called Four Corners in east London and they are amazing, please look them up. Right back to my point, I was quite proud of myself when applying for work with my CV and cover note, I thought my CV was looking pretty good? After all, I based my cv on another persons cv whom works for ITV and this person has been very successful! Why wasn't my cv getting the same attention? I have done all the right things, or so I thought! Four Corners work alongside industry professionals, people whom work as directors, producers, editors and so on ... So they all know what they are talking about, if they give you advice you listen. During my first mentoring session I presented my cv thinking nothing need charging, boy was a wrong! My mentors took my cv apart, nether of them couldn't see any of my skills, it was far to dense and the language was all wrong. I had to explain every word I had written, which made us realise I had done far more, I was selling myself short. Now imagine an employer looking at this, not good! Keys points to keep in mind when composing your cv and cover note 1. Always always tailor your opening paragraph on your cv, for example if you are applying for a Floor Manger role at a company simply say you are looking for this type of job, sounds too simple and obvious, but is helps 2. Sell your skills in the opening paragraph, for example 'A multi-skilled individual with excellent communication skills. Experience in research, logistics, camera and editing, looking for work as a ....' 3. Don't have a cv that is too dense that you skills and strengths gets lost in translation 4. Have bullet points of your skills 5. Try to put your skills in sections, for example, if you have experience in logistics then make a bullet for this and put your skills in subsections under this 6. Try to make your cv to fit on two pages, but don't worry if you go over a little its not the end of the world, its more important to illustrate your experience 7. When writing you cover note, look closely to the key skill and experience the employer is looking for and try to fill their requirements with your experiences. One way you can help yourself in finding your skills and your hidden talent is by sitting down with a friend or someone you trust and show them you cv and discuss your work experience, talk about what you did, what happen, how is happen and you may find skills you never thought you had, I did and it opened up a whole new avenue. Thats all for now, love & peace To be continued....