As someone who isn’t going to University I focused on researching how to create a portfolio. But in the end I chose to create a cv as I plan to look for jobs or even apprenticeships and with the research I have done for portfolios, it helps me to make my cv the best it can be.

With the research skills I have gained, they have helped me find creative jobs, as I want to work in the creative industry, that interest me such as piercing apprenticeships, working backstage for the Sheffield theatre’s and receptionists for tattoo parlours. But as these jobs can be quite rare I had to research various websites such as Indeed.co.uk for the standard job search like working at Sheffield theatres. But when it came to looking for piercing or receptionist jobs I had to go onto the personal websites like Blue Banana, The Owl and The Pussycat and Forge Tattoo. To see if they were advertising jobs or if they needed someone in the next few months. I also found from researching an even better way to see if they have any jobs, and this was by looking at there social media sites as they’re more likely to advertise placements on there with photos or statuses. Having some knowledge helped me narrow down my choices because being a tattoo artist is something that interested me but is something I can’t do as you have to be an excellent artist with years of training. But it’s an environment I want to be a part of as I’ve always wanted to be a body piercer, or work in a place that does that which is why being a receptionist and booking people in for tattoos or piercings is something that interests me.

I faced more of an issue with my personal statement rather than my cv as my cv isn’t as complexed as my personal statement. The issues I faced with my personal statement were mainly the structure as it was my first time having a go and I was quite unsure with what information should go where and how it should be laid out. But overall I found the most difficult part to be the introduction and the ending as those two are what tied it all together. I over came these issues by taking my time with writing notes and going over it with my tutor with what sentences to use and what information should be talked about. Even though I won’t be using my personal statement I’m glad I was able to complete it and be happy with the outcome. I found it easy to gather information to include in my cv as for me it’s just my work experience and what Ive accomplished over the years but written well. But for my personal statement I had to think of my experience in relation to the course I was going to apply to, which at the time was Technical Theatre, luckily I had lots of background experience I could talk about. For example I included how I am a member of the Sheffield people theatres, all my acting experience and how I’ve worked backstage for plays etc. I ended up creating two copies as my first copy was my first draft so I had an overall structure and could see what needed work on for my final copy of my personal statement. Which in the end worked really well for me as I was working off my first copy and making it better in a new draft. I believe I did well in communicating my skills and knowledge through my personal statement and cv as there are no grammar mistakes and I wrote in first person so I could address everything myself and talk about my experience and what I think. In the future I think once I gain my experience in basic jobs I can talk about how I’ve built myself up and what creative experience/jobs I have put myself out there for.

Overall after reviewing portfolio sites and coming to the conclusion a work cv would be best for me. I used the skills and knowledge I gained from researching various platforms and made my cv approachable and ideal for putting myself out there for various job platforms. I wouldn’t say looking at online and various websites helped as a whole as they were mainly targeted at University students which didn’t work for me at all. So the only really platform to out myself out there that suited me was creating a work cv. A way of improvement would be to have a my cv as it is but also a cover letter written formally on why I am an ideal candidate for any work placement.