Tips for your medical illustration CV
TODAY’S TOPIC:
In this Episode, Emily and Annie talk about CVs and how you can present yourself in the best way possible when applying for jobs in the medical illustration and animation field.
“THE FIRST THING THAT REALLY STANDS OUT TO ME WHEN I LOOK AT SOMEONE'S CV IS WHETHER THEY'VE FOLLOWED OUR INSTRUCTIONS. IN OUR INSTRUCTIONS WE ASK FOR A SPECIFIC FILE TYPE AND TO HAVE THINGS SENT TO US IN CERTAIN FILE FORMATS. WE DO THIS FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF REASON BUT THE MAIN ONE IS TO SEE WHETHER THEY CAN FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.”
— Annie
Introduction
Emily: Hello and welcome to the Learn Medical Art podcast we share our tips, tricks and advice on the medical illustration and animation industry. Welcome to episode 1! Our very first podcast episode! I’m Emily Holden, a medical illustrator and animator.
Annie: And I’m Annie Campbell, also a medical illustrator and animator. You can find our show notes and resources from this episode and more educational content (such as industry interviews and tutorials and more) at www.LearnMedical.art.
Emily: So...what are we discussing today Annie?
What we want to discuss
AC: So Emily I wanted us to take a moment today to talk about CVs and how you can present yourself in the best way possible when applying for jobs.
Now I don't want us to go over the very basics of CV etiquette. That kind of information you can easily find in online articles, I'm sure that our listeners are smart enough to go source that themselves. What I wanted to chat to you about today was our experiences when looking at other people's CVs and maybe people can get some tips or insights into what an employer thinks when they look at people's work.
How does that sound to you?
EH: Sounds good. Let’s get started.
First impressions
AC: So Emily, I don’t know about you, but the first thing that really stands out to me when I look at someone's CV is whether they've followed our instructions. In our instructions we ask for a specific file type and to have things sent to us in certain file formats. We do this for a wide variety of reason but the main one is to see whether they can follow instructions.
It's funny, you get a lot of people that say they're extremely detail oriented but they tend to miss this pretty major thing and they send us the wrong file formats, or external links, or share a dropbox location.
EH: Yeah and it keeps happening, it's like they decide to miss the instructions on how to apply part. Also... the potential employer may not have a dropbox or OneDrive account... and they probably will not download it especially to view your CV or portfolio!
AC: Yes sometimes I’m viewing these applicants on my iPad or phone if I’m on the go and this just complicates everything, especially when I’m really excited to see their work.
EH: Oh and if I may Annie at this point I want to quickly talk about this...the worst for me is getting a blank email with a link. Let's quickly go through some email etiquette. I have been surprised by how many emails I have seen with no introduction... no "Good Morning"... no email content. Just a link. Why!? Or we had a few "Dear Sirs..." No sir, no. Do your research about the company at least!
AC: Oh yeah those CVs tend to go into the no no pile. We’re a pretty small team so it would be difficult to get confused as to who these CVs are being addressed to.
EH: Your email, your CV and portfolio sent to a potential employer is the first impression they will get of you. Make it count. You may have put together a nice cover letter in your CV but you can also add some of this into your submission email. "I am very excited to apply for the role" "I really love the work your company does, especially X,Y,Z." "It has been a goal of mine to work for your team"
AC: Yes just small little things to show that you know what the company does or what kind of projects they’ve done.
I think it might be worth doing another episode about email etiquette or even interacting with a company on social media in another episode. Don’t you think Emily?
EH: Yes that sounds good let’s make note of that.
AC: Ok done. So where was I with the CV stuff? As yes, Now our company asks for a PDF CV/resume and portfolio. And that's not because we have a preference of that over a word document. We outline specific file instructions for a couple of reasons.
Firstly it's to see whether they can follow instructions. Haha. You’d be surprised, but not paying attention to this can tell us a lot about a person and whether or not the person is suitable to work as part of this team. We write a lot of instructions in our assignments and we need our artists to hit every point in the assignment to do list—not pick and choose whatever’s convenient for them. Because at the end of the day we’re not servicing ourselves, we’re servicing clients that we really value. And when things get missed, it causes a domino affect that can cause a lot of problems.
EH: Yeah the instructions one is a big thing. I’ve had friends in HR In larger organisations mention how some people don’t use the online application form, as instructed, and instead send their CV in a different format. This really bugs the hell out of them because then they have to sit and spend time inputting all of the applicant’s data into the online form. They need this info because it gets uploaded to their system. When it comes to picking candidates for the interview process, HR remembers these individuals, and not for good reason too.
But other than following instructions, why else would you provide specific instructions?
AC: Ah yes, that story is kind of perfect because another reason we ask for specific file formats is that we kind of want an offline version of their portfolios or their CVs in case their website gets pulled down or their domain name changes. We might not have a person in a full time position, but we might consider them for freelance work further down the line, and we select freelancers based off the portfolios they send us. We keep them in an internal library and review the portfolios altogether, and it sucks when we really like an artist but their website is suddenly down because they haven't paid the domain or they've decided to rebrand themselves and that was the only link we have to their work. So we don’t have anything that we can share with our clients if we’re pulling together an extended creative team. So, that’s kind of a lost opportunity there.
EH: Right so you should consider the long game here. Kind of like planting the seeds or getting on peoples radar.
AC: Yes. Though their skills might not be suitable for us right now, they might be for a future project, and I wouldn’t want a first impression to hinder that. Speaking of skills, another reason we ask for a specific file types is that we're also analyzing whether they have the skills and knowledge on how to work with PDF exports, vector content, and programs like InDesign. Because a lot of the design projects we work with requires this very basic skill. So if someone is unable to produce a suitable PDF that can be included in an email attachment, then they go down in the application list. If they have provided a pdf, we’re going to review it with a fine tooth comb. So if someone has included icons or a logo in their PDF, I'm zooming in to see if they are vector. If they're rasterized or pixelated, they are put in the no-no pile.
EH: Yes, whenever there are graphical elements, like icons in a CV, I assess to see whether the icon designs are cohesive with one another. Whether they are sized and colorized in the same way. It’s surprising to see how many people just grab a jpeg of an icon from the internet (which is probably breaking a couple of copyright rules by the way) and throw it in without considering these design choices.
AC: Totally and if you do want to use icons, there are great websites like Noun Project where you can download vector icons and use them with attribution or pay a minimal fee for them. There’s also loads of other free icon libraries out there so it’s worth spending some time searching refining this if you’re going to go so far as to put icons into your CV. The details matter here.
Graphic design of your CV
EH: Speaking of design, the layout of your CV does matter. Graphic design is really important in our field and you can showcase your graphic design skills by the way that you design your CV. Text alignment, font sizing, font pairing can make or break your CV. We don’t mind the type of color that you use, so long as it works.
AC: Yeah I think it’s all down to the overall design rather than one single element when it comes to adding color, but type design really does matter.
EH: For sure. When we talk about type design, here are some of the things that really stand out to us:
We assess whether the text is easy to read. The font style, or the font size, or even the amount of fonts that there is can affect the legibility of text. It’s useful to understand terminology like line spacing, alignment and kerning when working with type.
AC: There’s a great resource that was shared with me years ago, that really helped me understand this terminology and it’s called thinking with type.com. We’ll add it to the show notes and it’s worth checking out.
EH: Perfect. Now if you feel overwhelmed or unconfident in your layout design skills, a good rule of thumb is to keep it simple, keep it clean. And before you send anything off, make sure you do a two quality checks. The first is to go through your text to make sure that there are not spelling or grammatical errors. The second is a design check to make sure your text is aligned correctly, colors are cohesive, icon and font sizing is cohesive, and all of your hyperlinks are working.
AC: It’s not great to see when people say they’re detail-oriented on their CV and We see things like spelling mistakes or design mistakes. This is only evidence to show that you’re not detail-oriented. Now this is rich coming from me, where all of my social media posts are riddled with spelling mistakes, so maybe that’s why I’m trying hire someone who can spell.
Does design really matter?
AC: So, Emily this whole design aspect of CVs, that seems like a lot of work and some people might wonder if it’s worth all of the effort?
EH: We’re a small studio so our team have multiple skills they can pivot between projects, graphic design is one of the skills we look for in candidates, and it’s a skills that is becoming more increasingly in demand as companies are looking for medical illustrators that know a bit of everything. But some people might say, Annie, that graphic design doesn’t really matter if you are working for a larger organisation as an illustrator or as an animator. They probably have a whole graphic design department on hand to help them do this.
AC: For sure and we’ve worked for companies like that. But I want you to consider this. If you are a junior artist, for example, and you want to progress to become an art director, you’re probably going to need some graphic design skills to land that role. For some art director roles you need to create pitch documents for your company or oversee branding guidelines for the visuals you create. If you don’t have these graphic design skills to create content and sales tools that helps represent and sells the company that you work for, then it’s going to be very difficult to get to those types of positions.
EH: That’s true. Then again…
AC: Then again...
EH: On the other hand, if you’re quite happy doing work as an illustrator or animator, that’s totally fine to not have crazy amazing graphic design skills, maybe just have the basics. Focus on that and keep the design of your CV simple and clean. No need to throw in a razzle dazzle design.
AC: Right. And we’ve mentioned some resources already to help you with keeping things looking nice and clean.
What skills to include?
AC: Now another thing we look at in a CV are skills, which is something people can add to their CVs to show employers what programs or software they're familiar with. I'm all for having a list of software in there. It kind of shows me that this person has had experience in using industry specific software.
EH: But one trend that we see, time and time again, are these skill bars for software programs. Like a person will have 5 out of 5 stars for photoshop or something like that. Meaning that they consider themselves advanced in their photoshop knowledge and technique. This type of design trend can be a disadvantage for the candidate, because if they’re telling me that they are a master at Photoshop, I’m expecting to be blown away by their digital painting skills.
AC: Yes the evidence is in the portfolio but it’s usually never the case is it Emily?
EH: No, sadly, it rarely is. And this is where maybe this design trend can let you down here, because if you’re telling us that you’ve mastered this software program then there’s nothing more we can teach you. So rather than having a bar or stars for your skill level in a software program, just list the software program you know on your CV. We will be able to assess how well you can use it from looking at your portfolio.
AC: Speaking of listing skills, one thing that might be specialized for medical illustrators or animators are industry specific skills. I've seen some people list anatomy knowledge: like surgical illustration or molecular illustration or laboratory experience as part of their list of skills. This is sometimes useful as we might need a member of the team or a freelancer that has a specialty in a medical area. Emily you're our resident head and teeth specialist because of your time at the dental school, and our team finds it useful to look to you for your knowledge there if we're ever stuck. If you were applying for a job you could put head and neck anatomy as part of your Anatomy skills section on your CV.
What other industry specific skills might be applicable?
EH: Well for digital illustration or design, there’s the usual:
Adobe suite, photoshop, illustrator and InDesign.
For animation people could list:
After Effects
or 3D programs like Maya, Autodesk, Cinema 4D, 3DsMax, Houdini
For specific skills working with data it could include knowledge on segmentation software like:
3DSlicer, invesalius, Ameira, VGStudio Max, Protein Data Bank, Chimera, Pymol
and the list goes on. Only add software and knowledge based skills that you know and have worked with before.
AC: Right because people will check. If a person lists something like Unity in their CV, I’m going to cross reference this and try and find evidence of a Unity project in their portfolio. I’m interested to see that. I’m excited! But more often than not, we get applicants that have listed a whole bunch of skills and software and the only thing we see in their portfolio are pencil sketches or some photoshop illustrations. And I’m real sad to see that.
Cross check your CV with your portfolio
EH: This brings us nicely to cross checking your CV with your portfolio. Any projects or skills you mention on your CV should probably be reflected in your portfolio. Don’t make an employer chase you for it, because more often than not they won’t follow up. We sometimes follow up, if we have the time, but we’re mostly too busy with client projects to chase after candidates to see pieces of their work.
AC: Right, and these projects sound great on paper but we make our final decision after seeing their portfolio. And it’s very much the case with many creative industries.
EH: Now some people might say that they cannot share certain projects or have nothing to show in their portfolio because of Non-disclosure agreements with previous companies, and that’s ok. In cases like this you should probably have some personal side projects in your portfolio that reflect the type of work that you’ve done commercially. Again employers need evidence of work in order to make a decision, they’re not going to take your word that you’re really, really good. They need to make that decision themselves.
AC: Yes, if we have one candidate that has a great CV but no portfolio to back up that CV, and on the other hand we have another candidate that has a great CV and portfolio, we’re going to go with the other candidate when it comes to selecting people for the interview process. Because they’ve done all the hard legwork and have considered their audience, and it shows us that they’ll probably do the same if they work with our clients.
Summary
EH: On that note I think this would be a great time to wrap it up and do a quick summary! So what have we covered and what are the main take-always for our listeners.
AC: Ok let's summary some actionable steps
First impressions do matter so make sure you follow instructions, like they say in all online articles out there, cater your CV for the specific job you’re applying for.
Consider graphic design basics in your CV, resources like thinkingwithtype.com are great to help you get started
Keep it simple, keep it clean is a great motto to follow when it comes to type design for CVs
Avoid bad CV trends that can put you at a disadvantage, like those skill bars
See if you can add in industry specific skills, like you’re anatomy knowledge, as well as software
Do 2 quality checks, one for grammar and spelling, and the other for design
Anything listed in your CV should be reflected in your portfolio
And lastly, think about your audience and who you’re sending this CV to. Make it easy for them to appreciate the amazing work that you do.
And I think that's enough to for people to get started Emily.
Emily: Great thanks Annie and thanks everyone for tuning in to the Learn Medical Art podcast. You can find show notes and resources from this episode on our website www.learnmedical.art. Give us a follow on social media @learnmedicalart and if you want to get in touch you can reach us via our website or send us a DM.
