CREW CV's

My first job in film

Out of 100's of CV's seen by employers, the "right ones" are characterized by what?

The right ones refer to relevant information and refer to fact or past experience. 

Using any style or format for the CV is okay, but it's important to make sure of what?

Any style, format or theme is fine, just make sure they're clear and easy to read. Not everyone is a fan of pictures, but it is entirely up to you.

10/15 people fail to do what when they are doing a CV?

10/15 people will not have made an effort to customise their CV or research the role. This leaves the applicant 1 in 5 chance that their CV will catch the eye of the recruiter, and trust me those odds are as good as it gets in the world of recruitment. It will all come down to that individual recruiter and their personality to try and make it onto that shortlisted 5.

why customise your CV?

The two important reasons for customising your CV are:

We see it time and again candidates applying to a job in say Distribution and have an opening line on their CV saying "I am looking for a career in Film Production" or "I am a highly experienced Camera Operator". Right there, their chance of getting that job just evaporated because they could not be bothered to customise your CV. How much better would it have been to say 'I am looking for Distribution Internships'?

this tells us that one of the reasons is to make your CV original and to keep it customised it is vital to have catching, unique titles, sub-headings and opening paragraphs. this differentiates the way most people write their CV and if it does catch the recruiters eye, then you know your'e in for a really good shot!

the second reason is:

Who would you recruit - the guy who says he/she is a 'Development Assistant' and who talks about their relevant information, the skills involved and the specific courses they have 

taken or the dude who mentions not a word of Scripts or Development on their CV?

This tells us how important sticking to relevant information is and how effective it is in including it in your CV. Do not get side-tracked when stating things you have done, have experience in or are looking for. Be straight to the point, then explain those points so it becomes very easy for the recruiter to see exactly what it is you can do, when you've done it and ways in which you can expand in those topics and more.

The 10 Golden rules:

1. Make sure your CV is customised, unique and never use 'General CV' as an option
2. Ensure you do not include any information which is not relevant to your application, including film experiences in a different area of the industry. ie. There will be no credits for an office job!
3. .Make sure to keep repeating the title of the job throughout the CV.
4. Remove your address from your CV as it has no relevance.
5. Ensure that the most important things go at the top of the CV.
6. Think about the recruiter, what they wish to see and deliver it to them.
7. Less is always more- Do not go off on a tangent and waffle on.
8. You are NOT a Producer, Director, Editor or Writer yet- remain humble and give yourself a chance to get there.
9. By keeping the size of the file as small as possible, you reduce the possibility of spam filters.
10. It's important to save your CV file as "Your name - The job title - Company name". ie. "Tom Hanks - Production assistant - Bobs Film Company"

The advice that is given if you want to get your foot onto the first step is to keep on mentioning the term 'Production Runner', still keeping all the information you use relevant and remember, everyone starts from somewhere.

the advice given to those who have no or little experience is to be smart. Use what you have. Research the company, research the type of job it is. Figure out what the recruiter is looking for and make sure your CV keeps giving them the answers. For most entry level roles, attitude is key and the ambition to work in that exact role.

The worst thing you can do when putting together your CV is The worst thing you can write on a CV, is that 'I am looking to experience all aspects of the industry then make my decision on where to focus my career'. Forget it. They want to hire the person who states categorically 'I want to be this...'. That makes your CV standout and lets be honest probably plays to the ego of the recruiter by essentially you saying you want to be like them. 

What this implies about specialising is - lots of Production Companies, Distributors etc do NOT like to see loads of production credits on a CV. This to them is just a diversion for attention and they will think you are just applying to get any old paid job and will leave as soon as something better comes along. So remove them, if they do not support your case that you want to work in distribution or development etc then remove it. Be smart.
Advice given about looking at/ making use of example CV's is Right, don't copy these, they are quick guides nothing more. But should give you a sense of making sure your CV is relevant, repeats the title of the job throughout and is nice and clear. As you will see, they are all very much of a similar type, but that's because it is not rocket science. Research the company, research the role, make your CV relevant and clear.

<< This was the most relevant and useful example CV that i found. I am at the first stage, i have had very little to no experience so it is a good indication as to where you could start, being a runner, and how to use the information from your past jobs to make it more likely for you to get accepted in to that short-listed 5.

The thing that they all had in common was that they all contained relevant information, and  mentioned everything that was needed and they did not go off, talking about something irrelevant. 

Things all successful CV's have in common:

• They all contain relevant information
• They all have The job title repeated within the CV application.
• They do NOT include your address, just your name, the job title and company name.
• They are all humble and readable.
• They are clearly written and only mention what they need.