Every job application calls for a tailored CV as per the job requirements. While my Resume enlists every job undertaken the media field, after moving to Melbourne I have worked as Promotions Staff for RMIT’ Career Development and Employment, an Admin Assistant at Alfred Health. Though these aren’t relevant to the industry that I want to pursue my career in, they count as work experience in Melbourne, but I haven’t mentioned them on my professional CV.
In the earlier stages of this semester in the Media Career Development course, I focused primarily on refining my CV, I revamped my existing LinkedIn account with a new profile picture, a summary, a volunteering experience with Partners In Community Development Fiji (PCDF), and added other interests and social causes that I supported, leading to an ‘All Star’ profile.
I also jumped at the opportunity to offer my Indian wedding footage for a SBS television show – Indian Wedding Race, that Meg was working on as an intern at 360 Degree Films production house. I approached the production house in person with my hard disk drive as I wanted to establish a professional relationship with the Producer (Andrea) that I was in contact with via email. I believed that if meet her and hand over the footage to her personally, it would create a good impression and would set the ball rolling for me to develop a professional connection that could help in the future, post graduation.
Unfortunately, while I did make it to the production house to hand over the footage, I didn’t meet Andrea as she wasn’t present in the office and hence handed the hard disk to the editor who was working on the project.
Post the feedback received during the progress presentation, my focus was to improve my elevator pitch and LinkedIn connections as most jobs are procured through active networking. The elevator pitch delivered during the progress presentation, in my opinion was too text bookish, it lacked a personal touch and I felt like a robot who was ranting a programme that I didn’t understand, even though my intention of writing it was that it could be used as a LinkedIn summary too. I realised that I had to re write my elevator pitch with a more personal touch; one that would convey my career aspirations, highlight my achievements and help me position myself appropriately in the media industry. I also realised that I was underestimating myself when it came to networking. As Kanthi, my professor highlighted that I was engaging in passive networking, wherein I was reaching out to the opportunities offered to me by my classmates, uni connections etc. While I thought social media was a very powerful marketing tool, I understood the point made by Patrick that YouTube would be a better space to promote my video content, rather than a Facebook page and have acted upon that. I’ve also created a (work in progress) page on Wix, that showcases my creative portfolio.
Moving forward :-
- I want to collate my filming and video editing experience in a showreel.
- Connect with industry experts and join relevant industry and skill groups on LinkedIn
- Constantly update my LinkedIn profile and continue making connections
lalowe11 