The Dancers CV: Do they even read it?

We have all spent hours, changing fonts, aligning photos, editing layouts, but just how far does a CV get you?

The opening section of my CV

Countless times I have walked into auditions and upon registering glancing over other peoples CVs and just being baffled by how many different styles and designs there are! Generally speaking in the world of "work" a CV is given to an employer before an interview and the idea is to grab an employers attention for them to carry your application further, so theoretically the same should be for a dance panel? However you're already there in person and you're already about to dance (which translates as the 'interview') and 9/10 times, a casting agent or panel will glance at your CV for mere seconds! There is a whole page of information and photos, in fact possibly too much information, but everything you are told is required for a CV and this makes me ask myself 2 questions:

"What does an employer look for on a CV?" and "Does it grab their attention when you're about to dance for them anyway?"

As a professional dancer, we are told to be flexible and versatile and approach every audition open minded as you never know what they will throw at you. Therefore it makes perfect sense that one would require a different CV for each audition thus making the "perfect CV" an impossible achievement. But we are dancers, we strive for nothing less for perfection, and hopefully I can evaluate and critique my current CV and end up with a single CV that, with the occasional tweak, can be used in the professional world and assist me in auditions. 

What does an employer look for on a CV?

I feel that anyone who has embarked on professional training or has any idea of the professional industry could rattle of a list of requirements that a CV should have, however, I would like to focus on the order of importance; is height and weight more important than vocal range? Are photos necessary when you hand in a headshot anyway?

So first things first, lets look at my current CV, I have a list of stats: Height, Weight, Eye colour and Hair Colour. The harsh reality is that before they've even seen you dance, an employer has to work out if your physical looks will suit the show they are casting for.

But saying that, you're most likely standing in front of them, so they can see in an instance, with you there in the flesh, if you're physically suitable, so again that does kind of make render the CV useless.

Yet there is one thing that an employer looks for and thats your past experience! On any CV, most employers will look directly for your past experience because that is usually a big contributor to whether you're suitable or not.

The list of performance experience

Here you can see I have chose to display my experience in a table that is easy to read and clearly labeled. Personally I would be inclined to say that the experience section is the most important part of a CV, because the rest of the information on my CV so far can be found out by just looking at me. 

Although, assuming the experience is so far the most important part of your CV, is it displayed to its fullest potential? I would argue that to avoid risk of drowning key information in useless waffle that the list of experience should be concise and punchy. However although you can clearly see the shows and companies I have been a part of, I have given no information regarding the roles I played or the experience I actually gained from the show! 

Comparing this with my "normal job" CV:

A small segment from my current CV

You can see instantly a difference, I have listed the same information (Where, when, who) but I have gone a lot more in-depth into what the role entailed! This is all well and good, but its a lot of information to take on board and also, should I do this for my dance CV, would make it impossible to fit onto a single A4 page! As I have never been on the other side, I wouldn't know for certain, but I would argue that should a dancer hand in a CV with all that information in a walk in audition that I would merely skim over it and not pay attention anyway. Yet the ever questioning individual I am, makes me wonder, if a snippet of information regarding what a role entailed would give an employer a bigger insight into what I have done and potentially make them consider me or at least pay me a bit more attention in an audition. 

This brings me onto this, a snapshot of a CV made by an agent wanting to sign me:

Very similar yet very different

As you can see, the layout is pretty much the same, yet the content is vastly different. I like how this particular agent has incorporated the 'Role' column and do feel that it could be useful on my CV. Theoretically this CV has been made by someone with a lot more authority in the industry than I have and therefore one can assume that they have a lot more knowledge about the requirements of a CV than I have.  Analysing this CV from the view point of a panel, the information is concise and easy to read and yet a lot more informative than my current CV. So that is one tweak, just for self criticism and comparison, that may potentially help improve my CV.

The final part of this section is now to discuss the final part of my CV, my training. I am very proud of my previous training, and worked hard to achieve all I did in a reputable establishment of education and dance training. 

The final part of my CV

However other than finding out where I trained and the disciplines that I trained in, this part of my CV could be seen as either useless or my biggest asset. We all know the quote "It's who you know, not what you know" and we all also know the dance world is very small. Part of training and something that you did automatically, was networking, and institutes of professional dance training schools and colleges host a wealth of potential contacts and authoritative people. Even on an international scale, dance schools are like a brand, you ask someone across Europe who is a vague football fan, they will know Manchester United Football Team as it is an international brand as well as a sports team, the same has to be said for dance schools. With magazines such as 'Dance Europe', an ever-growing network of international students and also an ever developing world of technology, providing virtual networks of knowledge about institutes of training, the notion that an audition panel will have some knowledge of where you've trained.

Therefore this could make a difference to your success at an audition, if you come from a reputable background, they may take you more seriously. Yet, on the other hand it could mean that a panel is judging you from the get go, they may not look at you from an unbiased angle. 

Yet this this under there assumption that they even read it. Theoretically it could be wasting precious space that could expended more wisely in other sections i.e.. experience. Furthermore, your training isn't the be all and end all of your career, as much as it prepares you for the real world, nothing can brace you for the harsh realities of the actual industry! A lot of things changed when you're being paid to dance as apposed to paying to do it! This is where I am the most curious into how important this part of the CV is, it could honestly go either way, so although I am opting to keep it within my CV, I will be questioning the usefulness of this segment. 

So... "What does an employer look for on a CV?" well how long is a piece of string? I feel that through comparison I have highlighted parts of my current CV that could do with changing and parts that are adequate and will be suitable for the diverse selection of auditions that I will be participating in. To answer my question would be pretty much impossible, but with all the factors considered I can give my best stab at answering it combining my professional experience and self criticism. A CV should be concise and neat but informative, something that is all well and good saying but hard to put into practice. The layout should be personal, I have opted to incorporate photos because as a dancer, it is based a lot more on my physical appearance than say a singer, and I have chose to keep it simple and monochrome, too many colours would make it look busy. I realise now, that I should include a list of the roles I have played within the 'experience' section as that is the bread and butter of the CV, stats are obvious and training has been and gone, its what I am doing in the real world that could be the difference between an audition or not. So in conclusion, I feel that I can now edit and tweak my CV and be confident that I use it to my best ability... Even if they don't read it, its a requirement most of the time and there is definitely no harm in trying!

Does it grab their attention when you're about to dance for them anyway?

My CV

So, I turn up to an audition, I sign in, take a number and hand over a CV, I learn the material and I dance. They keep me or cut me. That's the bottom line. Yet 9/10 auditions ask for a CV and usually the audition panel are looking at CVs while watching you perform. The less subtle ones toss them to the floor or pile them neatly when making their decisions. Therefore I want to explore the impact a CV could have during an audition. Is it just a way to put a name to a face, is it scrutinised, do they look at your past experience while making their decision? 

My first instinct is to say that employers just consider a CV as a way of putting a name to face, if they want me for their show, they'll decide by the way I dance. However thats a very brutal and black and white way of looking at it, and we are all human, thats not always the case. Casting me for a show is not always about just the dancing, do I hold the right work ethic, do I have the right background? Both are things that don't come out in an audition, I could be the best jazz dancer in the room, but if my CV is sloppy, they might assume my attitude is sloppy and this is the dance industry, its one of the only industries where it's employers are expected to be judgemental and jump to conclusions (but also in general life, first impressions can seriously change things). 

What else can you get from my CV that you can't get from just watching me dance. Well my employment history is very crucial, as a graduate, it is something I understandably lack, so that could also affect me in an audition. Employment history gives a slight insight to my work ethic, my previous experience and my suitability for the role. 

There is also one thing I have overlooked, and thats the digital age that we live in. Having emailed my CV all over the world, the internet provides a beautiful platform to provide employers with your CV and again lead to potential employment. So in that case a CV should grab their attention and should look professional and readable. Yet, one would also assume that I would also be sending my showreel, therefore rendering the CV pointless once again. 

The question is then, why does every employer ask for a CV? It must hold a purpose, it must fulfil a requirement that employers have and therefore its crucial that it grabs an employers attention, it must show how you are individually yet be professional and suitable. But is there a line that can be crossed? My personal opinion is that I want my CV to be individual and sleek, grasp the attention of an employer but be informative. This, however, is all subjective to my opinion. You could argue that if a CV is just mere statistics then there is no point wasting valuable time and effort on creating one and a standard CV is suitable for all auditions and it is just a way to put numbers to names. 

To conclude, as part of module 1, we need to explore our personal profile and critique it, a CV is essentially our professional profile, but just how far does it go? In an industry where physical attributes and technical factors affect the employability of an individual, a CV can only go so far. I have analysed my current CV and highlighted parts that I could tweak and improve and explored what a CV should include and the purposes of them. But I still have to question how essential they are. In this day and age, they seem to me as just a necessity that is a tradition set in stone. I therefore over the coming module wish to explore different mediums of displaying a professional profile. I hope that I have sparked some questions in other peoples minds and would love to hear any comments people may have. This is me signing off and and off to tweak my current CV with the improvements stated above (even if it may not even be worth it)!

The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates