Improving your CV

As I was searching on the internet for websites which could help to improve your CV and grant you a higher level of job interviews, I came across a few websites which could help.  Here is a list to the sites I found.

http://www.alec.co.uk/
http://www.bradleycvs.co.uk/
https://sites.google.com/a/hs.np.edu.sg/school-of-health-science-alumni-ngee-ann-polytechnic/career-coaching

If you are looking to improve your CV all you have to do is go on the internet and start going through the websites that catch your attention, or you can simply go on to http://www.profilingforsuccess.com/main/flash.php .  This website allows you to take a psychometric test which is good as it forces you to work at a professional level and at the end shows you your results and tells you how you work.

Choices! Choices! Choices! (trips)

Since being told about the three trips this year I have set my heart on the one and only ‘New York’.  The reason why I have chosen New York is because not only have I always wanted to visit USA but also because I know I can make it big there as there are many more opportunities.  Also once we get to New York I am going to do my possible best to get myself known there and have my name on major company lists.

There was another trip which is called The Whale Nation Trip, this too caught my eye as I have always been a big animal lover, Dolphins are simply beautiful and to get the chance and opportunity to see them would be great.  I recently learnt that if I attend the Whale Nation Trip they would take us to see them three times a week and the dates are between the 4th and 13th of April, and therefore would collide with the New York trip.  It looks like I have a lot to think about.

Professional Experience Day!

Today was really interesting it helped open our eyes and mind and learning of the new opportunities we were going to have was exciting.  It was really helpful in relation to developing ideas on how to go about finding my placement and to learn what this module is about.

It is really helpful to know that there are other ways of searching for a placement just in case we fail to find our own work placement we can go to the ‘Creative Future’ facility which is available to all students.  The lecturers gave us a lot of useful tips such as ‘Instead of automatically asking for a placement, to ask them to give us advice on how to get into the industry and to get their opinions on which they think is a great way to start off to get to know someone without sounding like another typical student or like an unprofessional individual.

I know so much more about ‘volunteering and employability’ group which does play a big role of the university.  After knowing about all the ways for local opportunities that are available it has given me more ideas as well as confidence and motivation to go out there and get involved.  There were a few number of opportunities which were shown in the presentation that stood out to me.

The lecturers informed us on the outcome for this module and what sort of work is to be expected to hand in by us at the end of it.  I am so relived that we are going to be receiving help from our tutors with our CV’s as mine does need some tweaking.

Personally, I do think that I have a solid idea of what I would like to do in terms of my work placement.  My aim is to get in contact with individuals who work within production companies such as the BBC, and Walt Disney.  I do realise that it will not be easy as they get a high amount of letters, e-mails and phone calls from other individuals wanting to join but that is fine as it makes me much more motivated and more hard working and I am certain that this would be the perfect type of work placement for me.  The idea of travelling abroad for a work placement is quite exciting as it allows you to broaden your horizons, learn new skills and culture maybe even a new language and get to be out of your comfort zone and test yourself to see how far you will go on your own.  However, sorting out the accommodation and finance would be quite difficult as if you have never been to that particular country then you might not know where the accommodation is safe.  You would need to research quite a lot before going anywhere abroad.

 

The action plan that I created during workshop:

Skills that I have that I think I’ll need in this module:

1. Social Skills: – I am a good listener, good understanding of others, ability to make others feel comfortable around me.
2. Creative: – Creativity is something which I have a lot of and I feel that I have some realism to my creativity.
3. Organized: – I like to plan and write everything before hand, good time managing.
4. Technical Skills: – Good understanding of websites, cameras/filming/audio.
5. Good leadership skills
6. Independent (able to work individually) but also a team worker (I always make sure every team member is involved and has an input to ideas)
7. Can multi-task
8. Can speak another language (Arabic)

The type of activity which I would like to get into are-

• Tv Production work – team and individual worker, be organised, punctual, confident, good communication
• Documentary – alert the people of animal cruelty, environmental issues(global warming), the less fortunate however being more creative as their are adverts and documentaries like these, so I would need to think carefully how mine would stand out.
• Runner/Assistant – learning the ropes in the industry, again good communication skills, and always being happy as you are more approachable.

This workshop session was of great use as it made me think about myself in terms of what skills I have and what I don’t have or what needs to be improved, my career.  It has put me in the professional and right mind frame and taken me out of student thinking which is good as this will help me get further in my career, contacting the right people, researching a variety of companies, especially since now I am sure what they will be looking for and I am sure I can give it to them.

I have given myself till before Christmas to have written and researched a few companies and have contacted them.

 

Promotional Video – Filming and Editing Day!

Today I went to the Media Loan Shop to pick up the Z1 at 12:00 and luckily I have a tape from my previous year so I did not need to buy any tapes.  After collecting the equipment I made my way home where I met up with Jaz.  We started to write down everything we wanted to say and had to be aware of the time so that we do not go over.  After we finished the written work and were pleased with what we had done we read it out to one another so that it sounds professional.  Once this was finalised we then began to familiarise ourselves with the Z1 and began to record one another.

We were both nervous and I thought I would have to re-take my part a few times but surprisingly once the camera started rolling I only needed two takes which I was pleased with.  Once we finished recording ourselves I then made my way to my room and began to edit.  I edited my own video and the video for Jaz, I also imported still images in our videos and had them overlap certain parts of our audio.

I tried to be a bit creative with the editing for the ‘credits’ and have them scroll up.  Even though it was only a 1 minute video when editing my video and Jaz’s video it took me quite a few hours but I got through it all on my own and it is not perfect but I am happy about it.  I also made sure that during recording we left out small gaps so when it comes down to the editing I will not run in to any problems.

Luckily there was no problem with recording, capturing and editing thank god it all went smoothly which I am happy about.  The notes I had written during Bex’s Z1 and Z5 class came in handy as I had to look back at my notes a few times.  Once all this was done I uploaded them separately on to YouTube.  Below is the video of myself.

 

Skills instruction – Z1 &amp & Z5 camera!

Today we had a skills instruction class with Bex, there was so much information about each camera so I wrote them down as you WILL forget the important information.  It was an interesting class and Bex also let us have a practice fiddling about with the camera’s which was helpful as if we got stuck we could ask her before we begin our 1 minute project.  After class I immediately went to the computer room and booked out a Z1 camera as if I had waited they would have all been gone and since the next day we have free I could begin the project and get it out of the way.

I decided to do this project with Jasbinder as we can help each other and needn’t worry about how long it could take as we live together.  Working on this project should be interesting and it also helps others understand who you are.

Before recording anything Jaz and I sat down and wrote down an A4 page on who we are, what our personal and professional interests are and what we are looking to get out of this.  We decided to create the 1 minute video in our rooms at home as it was going to be about us so therefore it would be personal and only right to have it at home.  When you go to interview a business man/woman you do not film them in the park you film them in their office, wherever an individual works is where you should interview them.

Promotional Video

Today we were given the task in which we have to create a 1 minute video of ourselves to demonstrate our skills, strengths and weakness, we need to show our knowledge on the equipment and how to use them to a high standard.  This task will also be a part of the Professional Practice module.

Below are a few bullet points on of my career aspirations.  The reason why I have done them as bullet points is because I am still not sure what I want to work as.

1. Pa
2. Floor Manager
3. Camera Operator
4. Director/Manager

I need to sit down and have a think of all my skills, what I am strong at and what I need to work on, and hopefully through that I will be able to choose something which will fit perfectly.
I think most of us today were a bit nervous as it was our first day back as second years and we were clueless on what to expect.  Thankfully after Steve introduced the modules and informed us on what will be going on this year, I calmed down and was excited to get started.  I have told myself to get more involved in events that will occur and hopefully when working with different people it will help boost my confidence.  Also it could help with my knowledge on different aspects in each project and help me to improve the skills I have and maybe collect some new skills.

‘So much to do, so little time’ !