PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE MARIE-CLAIRE MILLS C3497520 WORD COUNT: 2453
CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 CV 3.0 ONLINE PORTFOLIO 4.0 LINKEDIN PROFILE 5.0 SOCIAL MEDIA 6.0 JOB APPLICATION 7.0 ASSESSMENT-CENTRE TESTS 8.0 INDUSTRY EVENT REFLECTIVE REPORT 9.0 INFOGRAPHIC 10.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.0 INTRODUCTION “The responsibility of self-promotion and getting your portfolio into the right hands rests with you... If your portfolio doesn’t impress your prospective client, then you won’t get their business” (Keller, 2010). The foundations of the Professional Practice module are to gain understanding of our career aspirations and develop employability pre-graduation. This portfolio of evidence will present 8 different components carried out across this semester to demonstrate engagement of the professional practice module. Keller (2010) states a portfolio makes an individual stand out, more credible and respectful to employers, and helps with self-confidence, stating a portfolio “should tell a story”. Jackson and Bridgstock (2018) express the importance for Higher Education (HE) students to understand all possibilities of career progression to enhance their student experience at University. Therefore, developing a portfolio of evidence, showing how I have enhanced my employability, would be good practice to better my experience of the last few months at University. The components within this portfolio of evidence are made up of; a skills-based CV, an online portfolio, a LinkedIn profile, a job advertisement and job application, assessmentcenter tests, a reflective report on an industry event, links to social media accounts and a keyword infographic on a job application selected from a chosen career path.
2.0 CV “’Curriculum vitae’ is a Latin term and translates as ‘the course of one’s life’,” however, a CV is not a place suitable for your life story (Innes, 2016). Instead, a CV is a document in which you encapsulate your scholarly achievements and work experience, in response to a job advertisement in the hope to get an interview. A CV is the first impression a prospective employer has of you, it is therefore important your CV is professional, concise and stands out (Bright, et al., 2015). On the following pages is a CV which I have created using the key components Innes (2016) states to be crucial in developing a good CV, by answering the top 15 questions about CV’s. I have included a section titled ‘Industry Skills’ because these are “your key selling points” to an employer (Innes, 2016). I also adapted the layout of my CV after receiving feedback from Matt Humphreys, We Are Vista’s Head of Content, saying I should divide up the text on the front page of my CV to make it more readable and attractive for employers.
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INDUSTRY SKILLS
Adobe Creative Cloud (PremierPro, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) Microsoft Package (OneNote, Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook) Mac Pages, Numbers and Keynote Online writing and SEO proficient Content creation Marketing Photography (DSLR Cameras) Videography Cultural Awareness Communication (written and verbal) Report analysis Collaborative (work as a team, punctual, hit deadlines) Creativity Project management CMS – WIX and Wordpress Experience with digital page turner, such as ISSUU Highly organised in time and file management
WORK EXPERIENCE
WAREHOUSE FASHIONS Sales Assistant, November 2018- Present OFFICE SHOES Retail Sales Assistant, April 2016 – November 2017 THE BLUE ANCHOR Waitress, September 2014 – January 2016
EDUCATION
3 A Levels in Art, Mathematics and Business Studies Nine GCSEs, including A in Art and B in Mathematics, and B in English
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Level 2 Sports Leadership Award Thinking and Reasoning Skills, Pass Awarded Art Scholarship at Ipswich High School, 2014-2016 Art work displayed at the Anna Airy exhibition, Suffolk
ADDITIONAL
Basic French Clean Driving License Proficient with PCs and Macs operating systems References upon request
BLOG
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PORTFOLIO
3.0 ONLINE PORTFOLIO Thurlbeck (2007) tells his readers that its imperative to have a stand-out portfolio, that is easily accessible to employers, online because the online world makes your competitors international not just national. “You will be judged not only on what they (the employer) see but also on how well you orchestrate the journey.” It’s important to have a good time when creating your portfolio because it will be reflected to the perspective employer in the outcome your portfolio should reflect you (Thurlbeck, 2007). My online portfolio is powered by content management system WIX and has been created by myself. I decided to include my portfolio into a section on my blog, www. fashionofmi.com, because I believe my blog is a portfolio of my work itself. Fashion of Mi is my creative outlet where I can experiment with fashion writing techniques, fashion styling, online content creation and just simply have fun, corresponding with the outlines of Thurlbeck’s (2007) ‘breakthrough portfolio’. The portfolio section is made up of multimedia work I have created over my three years studying at university. My online portfolio consists of; A-Level Art exam videography, Level 4 University Visual Communications for Fashion 1, Level 5 University Fashion Brands 2, Level 5 University Fashion Writing for New Media, and Level 6 University Fashion Writing Spoiled Nation Magazine.
Link: https://www.fashionofmi.com/portfolio
3.1 A-Level Art Exam Sub Aqua
Link: https://www.fashionofmi.com/a-levelart-exam-sub-aqua
3.2 Level 4 University Visual Communications
Link: https://www.fashionofmi.com/ visual-communications-for-fashion-1
3.3 Level 5 University Fashion Brands 2
Link: https://www.fashionofmi.com/fashion-brands-2
3.4 Level 5 University Fashion Writing for New Media
Link: https://www.fashionofmi.com/fashionwriting-for-new-media
3.3 Level 6 University Spoiled Nation Magazine
Link: https://spoiled-nation.com
4.0 LINKEDIN PROFILE Innes (2016) explains how LinkedIn has become an important part in the job application process because it is a social media where employers can easily find professionals and choose who they want to interview to work in their company. LinkedIn also allows for direct contact between candidate and employer.
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ marieclairemimimills/
5.0 SOCIAL MEDIA In our digital world, every business has social media to reach out to customers directly and create a brand image and online personality (Richardson et al., 2015). Our CV and portfolio is there to create a first impression of ourselves to an employer (Keller, 2010), therefore our social medias should be another platform for us to market ourselves on. I have professional social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. As I have a blog, I decided my professional account would be similar to an influencer account, with links and promotion of www.fashionofmi.com.
Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/ fashionofmi/ Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/mimimillsy Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/ fashionofmi/?eid=ARCep0hWTxbeSJUXmAu8v1cPKEZoRcbeN5ubkpel36WusoANNOxIkVEoBe64AizNiPIy9YrqF7vCL9-H Pinterest Link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ marieclaire2604/
5.1 Instagram
Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/ fashionofmi/ @fashionofmi
5.2 Twitter and Facebook
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/mimimillsy @mimimillsy Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/ fashionofmi/?eid=ARCep0hWTxbeSJUXmAu8v1cPKEZoRcbeN5ubkpel36WusoANNOxIkVEoBe64AizNiPIy9YrqF7vCL9-H
5.3 Pinterest
Pinterest Link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ marieclaire2604/
6.0 JOB APPLICATION We were given a job advertisement for a position as a marketing assistant at creative communications agency We Are Vista to respond with a CV and cover letter for your application. Matt Humphrey’s from We are Vista gave me feedback on my CV saying he would have selected me to interview based on my CV and cover letter, however I could have changed the layout to be more attractive for an employer. The following pages will present the job advertisement and cover letter I sent to We Are Vista. The updated CV can be found at 2.0.
6.1 Cover Letter Hello Matt, I am writing to apply for the Marketing Assistant position available, please find attached my CV and a link to my portfolio. I am in my final year at Leeds Beckett University studying Fashion Marketing and am really interested in the position you have advertised. As well as my degree, I have carried out work experience for MAWI Jewelry, River Island, Burberry, and, more recently, AX Paris in there PR department, working alongside the celebrities and influencers of the brand, and crating content for their social media and website powered by Fashion Nexus. Alongside my studies, I work for an online fabric company creating content for their social media and website powered by Shopify. I also run a fashion and style blog (fashionofmi.com) documenting my journey and style, aiming to help students similar to me live fashionably for less. The work experience I have carried out, has developed my industry skills to a professional standard as I have worked within a team in a fast-paced environment. I think I should be considered for this role because I have industry experience and skills that are outlined in the job advertisement. My education, experience, blog and portfolio show evidence that I am a creative thinker, self-motivated and have a strong command for written English. In my portfolio, there are examples of visual communication skills, with a collaboration between Stormzy and Versace, including a short-film and use the Adobe Suite package. Another section of my portfolio presents examples of both long-form and short-form writing, along with my own photography and the use of Adobe Spark. Thank you for taking the time to review my application and I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Marie-Claire Mills
7.0 ASSESSMENTCENTRE TESTS Assessment-centre tests are commonly utilised in the interview process to define your personality and give the employer a rough idea of how well suited you are to the position available. I used the Practice Aptitude Website and took the following tests; aptitude tests, the big five personality test, emotional intelligence test and resilience test. I created a summary of my results which are available on the following pages.
7.1 Aptitude Tests
The Big Five Personality Test (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018) Traits (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018)
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Concientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
Score
What This Says About Me
High
"People who are high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. Being around other people helps them feel energized and excited" (Cherry, 2018).
High
"Traits associated with this dimension include being corteous, flexible, trusting, good-natured, cooperative, forgiving, softhearted, and tolerant" (Barrick and Mount, 1991).
High
"Highly concientious people tend to be organised and mindful of details. They plan ahead, think about how their behaviour affects others and are mindful of deadlines" (Cherry, 2018)
High
"Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness" (Cherry, 2018).
High
"Traits commonly associated with this dimension include being imaginative, cultured, curious, original, broad-minded, intelligent, and artistically sensitive" (Barrick and Mount, 1991).
Emotional Intelligence Test (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018) Traits (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018) Self-Awareness: Accurate SelfAssessment Self-Awareness: Self-Confidence SelfManagement: Self-Control SelfManagement: Addaptability SocialAwareness: Empathy SocialAwareness: Service Relationshp Management: Influence Relationship Management: Team Work and Collaboration
Score
Medium High
Medium
Medium
High
Medium
Medium
Medium
What This Says About Me To have a high self-awareness, people have a good knowledge of their emotions (Mind Tools, 2018) and are able to use their strengths to their advantage to aid success (Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018). People who are easily led by their feelings often find it harder to selfmotivate. However, by setting long-term and short-term goals people can focus on the important parts of their aspirations allowing people undertand their ambition (Mind Tools, 2018). People with high levels of socialawareness can interpret other's emotions and perspectives (Mind Tools, 2018) and usually develop strong cutomer and coworker relationships(Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018). To have high self-management, people must be good at managing strong emotions by multi-tasking and persit being calm in stressful situations (Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018).
ResilianceTest (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018) Traits (Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd, 2018)
Situational Response
Self-Belief
Challenge and Purpose
Adaptability and Curiosity
Support Networks
Score
What This Says About Me
High
People with a high situational response don't get put off easily and don't let these external factors effect their current mind-set (McLarnon and Rothstein, 2013).
High
People with a high self-belief usually are knowledgeable of their thoughts and feelings and have a positive self-image (Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018).
High
People who score highly on challenge and purpose usually have high self-belief also. They are ambitious, have a dtrong drive, and like to have a clear vision of where they are going - these are all factors to help build resiliance (Mind, 2018).
High
To score highly on adaptability and curiosity, people must be keen to learn and develop on existing skills with an open-mind (Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018).
High
Through building a supportive network around us, peoplw are able to manage stress more effectively (Mind, 2018) and are able to discuss their emotions openly with peers (Practice Aptitude Tests, 2018).
8.0 INDUSTRY EVENT REFLECTIVE REPORT For an opportunity to engage with the module, an industry event day was set up. There were talks from different people in the creative industries, some were recent graduates from Leeds Beckett University, and some were our tutor’s connections. I believe it was really interesting to get a different perspective of jobs from people who work in the roles I have been exploring. There were a few who stuck out for me as they had careers that I was looking to explore. These people gave me an insight into the important parts of business that usually get left out, the less glamorous parts and have given me an opportunity into whether the career path is right for me. Victoria Reddington gave a talk on her business start-up Fashion Pony. The fashion marketing agency is somewhere between PR and advertising, covering areas like content creation, video art, fashion events and working alongside bloggers and influencers. Victoria explained her highs and lows of business and gave her top tips on how to get into industry with a start-up company. They are; visioning your future, finding your why, setting SMART goals, and just simply, getting out there. Reflecting on Victoria’s talk and having had a chat with her at the networking event, I feel like the business area which Fashion Pony is based may be a bit too broad for me and I don’t feel I have the confidence to set up my own agency. Chelsea Hughes, a recent graduate and multimedia picture producer for Glamour Magazine, gave a talk on her journey out of university. From Chelsea’s talk, I understand that the road to getting the job you want will be a bit rocky to start off with and will have lots of different challenges to face.
However, Chelsea said to always believe in yourself and it will always work out in the end. Working in the magazine industry has been another career path I have looked at and the talk from Chelsea has shown me how competitive and hard it is to get into the industry. When I chatted to Chelsea at the networking event, she told me to keep up my blog but add something to make you stand out, like being able to talk confidently on camera, and suggested to me to start a YouTube channel to coincide with my blog. Laura Bartlett, founding editor in chief of Leeds based House of Coco Magazine, filled the room with sass and confidence when it was her turn to stand up to talk. Laura has a ‘go-get-it’ attitude and made me feel like whatever dream I have I could achieve. Laura was self-critical about her journey, but in a constructive way, and this made her life, success and genuineness was real and relatable. Laura closed her talk with a mantra saying, “what is the worst that can happen,” which is something my mum has always said to me growing up and I think this is why Laura’s presentation has resonated with me so much. Reflecting back on my conversation with Laura at the mixer, I remember realizing a potential in myself to be able to achieve whatever I wish to achieve as long as I set my mind on it. Since the Industry event, I have definitely introduced a ‘can-do’ attitude and have put myself out of my comfort zone with my mindset being ‘what is the worst that could happen’. I left the event feeling very inspired and a lot more prepared for what I should expect from myself and my career.
9.0 INFOGRAPHIC
This infographic was created using wordclouds.com (2019) presenting the keywords for a job advertisement I would apply for. The job advert was for a Features Assistant at Vogue Magazine and can be found via the following link; https://www. fashionworkie.com/job/features-assistant-vogue .
10.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY Barrick, M. and Mount, M. (1991) The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: A Meta Analysis. Personnel Psychology [Online], 44 (1) Spring, pp.1-26. Available from: <https:// onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1991.tb00688.x> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Bright, J., Earl, J. and Winter, D. (2015) How To Write A Brilliant CV [Online]. Available from: <https://www-dawsonera-com.ezproxy.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/abstract/9781292015392> [Accessed 11 December 2018]. Cherry, K. (2018) The Big Five Personality Traits [Online]. Available from: <https://www. verywellmind.com/the-big-five-personality-dimensions-2795422> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Innes, J. (2016) The CV Book [Online]. Available from: <https://www-dawsonera-com.ezproxy. leedsbeckett.ac.uk/abstract/9781292086491> [Accessed 11 December 2018]. Jackson, D. and Bridgstock, R. (2018) Evidencing Student Success in the Contemporary World-of-Work: Renewing Our Thinking. Higher Education Research & Development [Online], 37 (5) July, pp.984-998. Available from: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ pdf/10.1080/07294360.2018.1469603?needAccess=true> [Accessed 11 December 2018]. Keller, M. (2010) Design Matters: Portfolios 01. Massachusetts: Rocket Publishers. McLarnon, M. and Rothstein, M. (2013) Development and Initial Validation of the Workplace Resilience Inventory. Journal of Personnel Psychology [Online], 12 (2), pp.63-73. Available from: <http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=f91fbe23-422e40cb-9286-a1aec5c11efc%40pdc-v-sessmgr05> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Mind (2018) How Can I Manage Stress? How Can I Be More Resilient? [Online]. Available from: <https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/ developing-resilience/#.XA8N_Kd0c1J> [Accessed 10 December 2018].
Mind Tools (2018) How Emotionally Intelligent Are You? [Online]. Available from: ><https:// www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ei-quiz.htm> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd (2018) Your Results | Emotional Intelligence Personality Test [Online]. Available from: <https://tests.practiceaptitudetests.com/showresults/231646/7422138> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd (2018) Your Results | Resilience Personality Test [Online]. Available from: <https://tests.practiceaptitudetests.com/show-results/231646/7422145> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Practice Aptitude Tests Ltd (2018) Your Results | The Big Five Personality Test [Online]. Available from: <https://tests.practiceaptitudetests.com/show-results/231646/7422008> [Accessed 10 December 2018]. Richardson, N., James, J. and Kelley, N. (2015) Customer-Centric Marketing: Supporting Sustainability in the Digital Age. London: Kogan Page. Thurlbeck, K. (2007) Creating the Breakthrough Portfolio: Strategies for Managing a Successful Career. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning. Wordclouds.com (2019) Wordclouds.com [Online]. Available from: < https://www.wordclouds. com > [Accessed 15th January 2019].