"So, what do you do?"
The 30-second CVWhether you’re in a situation where you’re meeting new people face-to-face, or you’re cold calling, having a ‘30-second CV’ to hand could make starting the conversation a little easier. What you’re doing is describing yourself and aspects of your work that you're most confident about as briefly as possible but giving enough information to make the person you’re talking to remember you and want to know more. Try out what you come up with a few times (maybe with a friend or someone in your family?) so you get comfortable with talking about yourself and don’t sound like you’re reciting a script.
For example:
"I'm a graphic designer, and I've been working freelance since I graduated from CSM last summer. My main area of interest is ethical design and I'm keen to work with a company that makes products that make a difference to the quality of people's lives. One project I was working on recently that I've really enjoyed was…"
"I'm a womenswear designer. I finished my BA at LCF in 2005 and I've had some fabulous opportunities to do work experience with some great designers over the last year. Funnily enough, the best placement I had was working for a tiny company who are just starting out, but I got to really get my hands dirty and get involved in all aspects of the running of the company – I really learnt a lot. My big challenge now is to find someone who can actually pay me for my time!"
