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- If you graduated less than 5 years ago from a UAL college check out: https://www.arts.ac.uk/whats-on/graduate-career-one-to-ones2

- Are you looking for a portfolio review? take a look at: https://www.creativelivesinprogress.com/articles/portfolio-reviews

- Are you interested in attending a careers fair? check out https://www.ukcareersfair.com/2023-schedule

Other services to look at:

- UK National Careers Service https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

- Princes Trust programmes for under 30s https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/get-job

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Slides from Create Your Future sessions can be found on the Career Wellbeing Padlet.

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As a graduate of UAL, or if you completed one year of full time study, then you're a member of the UAL Alumni Association!

We're here to keep you connected to UAL, your College and your peers.

Find out what you get access to, including discounts, events and great opportunities.

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As a graduate of UAL, or if you completed one year of full time study, then you're a member of the UAL Alumni Association!

We're here to keep you connected to UAL, your College and your peers.

Find out what you get access to, including discounts, events and great opportunities.

UAL Alumni ID number

A unique 6-digit number that gets sent to you after you graduate.

Use it to book visits to the UAL Libraries and get 10% discount on our short courses.

Find your alumni ID in the top right-hand corner of our monthly alumni newsletter.

If you don't know your alumni ID, email: alumni@arts.ac.uk.

Find us

Alumni Relations
University of the Arts London
272 High Holborn
London WC1V 7EY

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Find out about the UAL Alumni Association and how to keep in touch for news, events and exclusive benefits after you graduate.

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Finding Career Direction Session Slides 19/10/23

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Finding Career Direction Session Slides 19/10/23

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Access previous session recordings for 22-23 via these links

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Access previous session recordings for 22-23 via these links

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+ Exploring Careers and Finding Direction
+ Professional Portfolio Recordings
+ Creative CV Recordings
+ How to Interviews, LinkedIn and Networking Recordings
+ Cover Letter Recordings
+ Freelance Career Focussed Recordings

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Freelance Week 12-16 June Slides, Recordings and Resources

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Freelance Week 12-16 June Slides, Recordings and Resources

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How to... prepare your professional portfolio 

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How to... prepare your professional portfolio 

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How to... prepare your professional portfolio  (1)

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How to... introduce yourself, services and skills slide 

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How to... introduce yourself, services and skills slide 

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How to.. introduce and pitch yourself, services & skills

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How to Pitch Yourself in Speculative Applications

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How to Pitch Yourself in Speculative Applications

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Professional Portfolios for Multi-Hyphenates (1)

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You can access all career learning resources on this UAL webpage 

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You can access all career learning resources on this UAL webpage 

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Navigate to find out more information about student careers support from the Careers & Employability team

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Jobs and careers advice for students and alumni at University of the Arts London (UAL).

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Professional Portfolio: My First Portfolio

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Professional Portfolio: My First Portfolio

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You can get tips on how things to consider when creating your professional portfolio

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Get insight and tips on how you can protect your intellectual property when preparing and presenting your IP

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A guide to preparing your PDF portfolio 

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A guide to preparing your PDF portfolio 

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A great article with a step by step guide on how you can create a simple PDF portfolio.

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Applications for creative roles will often require you to have a portfolio of sorts; and today, that can take many forms - from social media profiles to printed objects. In this guide, we'll be focusing on the trusty PDF portfolio - a condensed and curated version you'll need for job applications. Here's what to include, how to make the edit and some all-important details for curating a great PDF portfolio.

A portfolio is a printed or digital document that showcases your best work. Used predominantly when applying for a job or internship, your portfolio is considered to be just as important as your CV and cover letter.

Portfolios can vary across different disciplines. For example, those working in film and animation might opt for an online showreel, whereas photographers might prefer a large-scale, printed portfolio that shows off their images.

While your work should speak for itself, when done well, your portfolio could also be considered a project in itself, or even an extension of your practice.

We'll go into these in more detail below, but generally speaking, this type of PDF portfolio is made up of:

* A cover page
* A selection of projects (normally between five and ten)
* An end page
* Your contact info (including name, email address and social media links)

A typical cover page will include your name and location. Sometimes, if you're submitting a PDF to a specific person or company, it can be a nice touch to opt for a more personal introduction. This could mean opening with a customised greeting like, "Hello Design Studio!"

There's a whole lot of varied advice out there on what projects to include in your PDF portfolio. But ultimately, it all depends on the type of role you're applying for.

As a general rule, you should only include the work you're most proud of. Be selective and avoid adding any projects for the sake of it. Aim to keep your selection below 10 projects, and try to balance different approaches and outcomes, making sure the projects you choose fit the brief and role advertised.

If you don't have loads of experience just yet, remember that employers are most interested in new voices and fresh perspectives; they'll want to see an eagerness and hunger to learn. So even if you don't have any published or commissioned work just yet, you can include self-initiated projects, rough ideas, drafts or experiments. This shows that you're interested and keen to learn.

Your final page is a chance to thank the reader for their time. Feel free to add a touch of personality, include a fun GIF, or even a friendly note. You can be the judge of this; work out if a personalised message is something they'd like to see, or whether they'd like it to be a bit more formal.

It's up to you where you include your contact details, but just make sure they're easily findable somewhere in your PDF. You don't need as much info as you'd write in your CV, but it's good to include:

* Your email address
* Your location, or where you are based
* Links to a website, blog or relevant social media platforms

The last thing you want after sufficiently impressing a potential employer, client or collaborator is for them to give up because they can't work out how to reach you.

You can also embed hyperlinks in your PDF and export it as an interactive document - just be sure your links are working and correct - there's nothing worse than realising that your website or social links are broken - or accidentally linking to that tray bake brownie recipe you were looking at over lunch!

Your portfolio is not only a reflection of your current practice; it can help you attract the kind of work you want to be commissioned for. For example, if you've only got one project with a focus on typography, but you'd like to explore this further in future, include it!

As well as showing off relevant skills and projects, employers are also interested in your passions, and personal or self-initiated projects are a good way to show this.

Once you've worked out which projects you'd like to include, it's time to think about how you communicate them on the page. While we can't give you a definitive number of pages to aim for, there are some considerations that can help you work out what makes sense for you...

Depending on the projects you choose to include, you'll want to dedicate more or less pages to certain projects. A response to a fun, one-day brief, for example, might warrant one or two pages. A long-term, research or process-heavy project might be better explained across more.

If you've used or developed a new technique that was essential to a project, why not include research insights or tests? This might help communicate your process and proactivity.

For illustrators or image-makers, this can also help a potential commissioner understand how long your work takes to produce - for example, if you use digital or analogue techniques like linocut.

Think about how a viewer experiences your PDF portfolio: How might it feel to go through lots of detailed projects in a row? You want to hold the reader's attention throughout, so try alternating between longer and shorter projects to help create rhythm and pace.

Think about what might capture someone's attention first, and what impression you leave them with. A good way to do this is to open and close your PDF portfolio with your very best work. You could gradually build up to a finale, give them an "ah-ha!" moment when they finish on your final piece.

Your viewer needs to be able to quickly understand your work and the thinking behind it, and this is why captions and credits are super-important. What part did you play and how was it achieved? What's the big idea?

For this, remember:

Use clear project titles, followed up with a short explanation of the work

Avoid big chunks of text where a paragraph will do

Specify the part you played, along with anyone else who was involved

Don't try to claim everything as your own, especially if it was a group project!

An employer will ultimately prefer to look at your work, rather than have to read lots about it - so include enough information that they understand what they're seeing, without you being there to explain it. You can always embed hyperlinks if it helps.

You'll want to avoid pixelation on any images, but be aware that big image sizes will often eat up your MB allowance and might be a nightmare to send digitally. Where possible, save images as .jpegs and reduce the quality - not the resolution.

Once you're happy with your selection, you can export your PDF portfolio and get ready to send it off! We'd also recommend taking your PDF to events like portfolio reviews like our very own or those run by The Dots. This gives you a chance to meet other people, and practice talking people through your portfolio.

Making the selection isn't always easy, but it will get easier over time. And remember - creating one portfolio doesn't mean that it's all over forever! It's an evolving document that you can keep updating as you grow as a creative.

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Applications for creative roles will often require you to have a portfolio of sorts; and today, that can take many forms - from social media profiles to printed objects. In this guide, we'll be focusing on the trusty PDF portfolio - a condensed and curated version you'll need for job applications....

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You can get tips on how to prepare and present your CV

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Career guide: Understanding your skills 

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Career guide: Understanding your skills 

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Gain insights on how you can identify and present your valuable and creative skills, experience and knowledge

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Check out Artquest guide on Artist CV for tips and insights for what sections you should include in your Artist CV.

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A CV brings together your professional achievements as an artist on one document.

Having a concise, up-to-date CV is vital. You'll use it to apply for exhibitions and other opportunities. Curators will also consider it when approaching you for a show.

A CV for arts opportunities is very different from a CV used for applying for jobs. Although presentation is important for either, an art CV has different requirements. This document is only concerned with arts-related CVs.

A good, clear, concise 2 page CV is best. Only include more information if the opportunity requires it. such as if it is for very established artists and they need to see more of your experience.

What to include on a CV

Include a selection of the following sections where relevant.

Name and contact details

Full name

Contact details (address, telephone/mobile, email)

Website and social media

Solo and group exhibitions

State if an exhibitions was solo or group.

Include the year of exhibition, exhibition name, gallery and geographic location.

Include the name of the curator if s/he is well known.

If you have had many shows, make the heading 'Selected Exhibitions'. Include the most interesting, impressive and relevant shows here.

Collections

List any private or public collections your work is in. List the year of sale followed by the name of collector / foundation / company etc.

Awards

Give details of any awards you have you won or made the shortlisted for.

Press and Publications

These include

Articles

Books

Academic papers

Coverage in press and magazines

That have written about you or your work, or that you have written for. Include the name of essay / article, name of publication, Issue / Volume number and date. Include a web link if possible.

Commissions

Include year, commissioner, and what the outcome was (eg, portrait, public artwork, etc)

Residencies

Including year and name and location of residency.

Gallery education

List any relevant experience you have and where and when you took part in specific projects. Only list this if its relevant to opportunity you're applying for.

Education

Details of your educational history with most recent first. Only go as far as qualifications attained after secondary school.

More tips on CVs

Things to remember:

Things to avoid:

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A CV brings together your professional achievements as an artist on one document. Having a concise, up-to-date CV is vital. You'll use it to apply for exhibitions and other opportunities. Curators will also consider it when approaching you for a show. A CV for arts opportunities is very different from...

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Click here for recordings from live 24/25 sessions

Click here for recordings from live 23/24 sessions

Please remember - not all of our sessions are recorded however, we do our best
to share any useful resources from our sessions via this padlet.

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UAL's post-grad community is open to postgraduates and alumni, it exists to provide a space of connection after your course has finished.

You can sign up for their newsletter to find out about upcoming events and opportunities, follow them on socials, join/start an interest group and more

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Connect with postgraduates and alumni

Connect with current students and alumni of UAL. Find collaborators, share your projects and events with this large audience, and stay up to date with the latest activities and opportunities.

Get the full story with all the live commentary. A useful tool for publicising your events and finding new audiences. We're dedicated to building a platform where all voices can be heard. Tag us!

If you have any ideas for events and activities, or want to look for collaborators, get in touch with the Post-Grad Community team by emailing PGCommunity@arts.ac.uk.

Exhibition SURGE III takes place at Lethaby Gallery (Window Gallery), Central Saint Martins, UAL, 13 to 27 March, 2024.

Exhibition SURGE III takes place at Lethaby Gallery (Window Gallery), Central Saint Martins, UAL, 13 to 27 March, 2024.

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Find out how postgraduate students can connect online at UAL via the Post-Grad Community's thriving online platforms and opportunities.

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Creative CV for... Creative Assistant roles (Shared)

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How to network with peers and professionals

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If you're a current UAL student you can email your portfolio to us at careers-support@arts.ac.uk for a Portfolio review.

If you are in the final term of your course, or you have graduated within the past 5 years,  email your portfolio to gradsupport@arts.ac.uk

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Book your place to attend a session via UAL Whats On 

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Book your place to attend a session via UAL Whats On 

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Professional portfolios for Animators and Illustrators

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Professional portfolios for Animators and Illustrators

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Professional Portfolios for Illustrators and Animators (1)

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Workshop slides from our Create Your Future series, please note these sessions are not recorded for them to remain a free and safe space to engage with activities. However, the slides include activities and great tips.

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Workshop slides from our Create your Future series, please note these sessions are coaching sessions which are not recorded in order for the sessions to remain a free and safe space. We do not record nor share videos from these sessions.

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Workshop slides from our Create your Future Series, please note these sessions are not recorded and we do not share videos from these sessions.

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This resource can only be accessed whilst you have an active UAL login credentials as it sits within the Academic Support Online platform.

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We commit to ensuring the communications we produce are clear and accessible to the widest range of people. We recognise our obligations under The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010.