A project promoted by Industry Relations and Career Service office

Visual Arts Area

Prof
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Personal branding
Curriculum Vitae
Cover letter
Portfolio This text is the outcome of a careful and me-
ticulous effort carried out by the Career Ser-
Tips on the vice office for you, our students and alumni,
giving you, with great eagerness, the first ele-
labour market ment of the long path that you will be building
in your professional development journey.
The creation of this text, a guide intended to
support you in having a mindful approach
towards the world of work, was possible by
listening to your needs, and always keeping
alive the constant dialogue with our partners
and with the Faculty, with which the Career
Service Office collaborates.

With the hope that you will find it useful!

Simona Castagna Ferria Contin

Career Service Manager
Personal
Personal branding refers to the way you promote and pres-
ent yourself to the world.
It represents who you are personally and professionally. Your
personal brand helps the creation of the first impression a po-
tential employer may have of you and consequently, you have

branding
to make sure you are communicating the right message.
The visual identity is a fundamental component in the crea-
tive industry. You need to identify a specific graphic style, with
a coordinated image that can reinforce your brand. This style
needs to be consistent with your CV, your portfolio, your web-
site and your showreel.
We suggest you to consider the used fonts, the colour pal-
ettes, the tone of voice and the style to keep (minimal, pop,
fashion, classic, vintage, etc.).

Personal branding1 is not just about the visual part, there are
several components that you need to consider, among which:

1 Networking e Social Media

In addition to having your projects online, we
recommend that you have professional social
profiles (such as Instagram and LinkedIn) that allow you
to obtain greater visibility and increase the possibility for
companies to get to know you, as well as consolidate re-
lationships.
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Visual Arts Area | 5

→ Bear in mind that recruiters particularly appreciate
professional toolkit

people who actively participate in discussions on top-

TIPS ics they know, or that are related to their profession-
al sectors, or people who are open to constructive di-
alogue. Therefore, social networks represent a very
powerful showcase.

1 For further information on Personal Branding, please refer to the NABA

Library website https://librarynaba-da.sebina.it/opac/.do, you will find
several publications and many web references on the subject.
 Curriculum
→ Pay attention to the privacy settings: make sure you re-
move or make ‘compromising’ content private, contents that
TIPS do not coincide with the professional image you would like to
give of yourself. It is very important to spend a few minutes to
set the privacy filters, so as to make public only the information

Vitae
that may positively influence the recruiter’s opinion.

2 Your values
As a creative, you have a social responsibility and
you need to be able to convey your ideas through
your projects. You need to communicate your values as a
professional; for example, if you want to communicate your
point of view on sustainability, inclusion or innovation, focus
on your projects rather than on the written part.

3 Professional goals
If you are aware of your goal and of the profes-
sional career you want to undertake, you need to
communicate it clearly. If you are open to various profes-
sional opportunities, or if you are not yet clear about your
profession, try to emphasise your flexibility in undertaking
a career.
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The labour market is always evolving and new needs and

new professional opportunities arise every day. Therefore,

Visual Arts Area | 7

professional toolkit

do not be afraid if you feel you need to experiment or change

career during your training or career course. The important
thing is to be always up to date on your sector of reference.
In addition, talk to your Course Leader or lecturer who, hav-
ing followed you during your training and knowing your incli-
nations, may be able to suggest you professional or alterna-
tive opportunities that you had not taken into consideration.
 ite the C
wr The CV is your personal promotion tool, aimed at presenting
Sections and contents of the CV
potential employers with a short summary of your experienc-
to

V
es and skills, so that they are open to evaluate your profile and
How

contact you for an interview. When making a first selection,

1
employers only spend a few seconds evaluating a CV, so take

?
your time to present your profile in the most concise, clear, and
Personal data
appealing possible way. Make sure you include your personal data at the be-
ginning of your CV, including:
Important considerations
The way you present your CV represents the first impression
you make to your recruiters:
→ Be short. Most employers require a one-page long CV;
however, it is possible to submit two pages if your experienc-
es need it.
→ Easy to read and consistent. Make sure you use the
same font throughout your CV and choose the smaller font
sizes to maximise space. Italics, bold or larger fonts for head-
ings can be used to emphasise the content.
→ Be concise. Short sentences and bulleted lists are useful
for avoiding a heavy look. The shorter the text, the more like-
ly it is to be read.
→ Review and correct. Check for spelling and grammar,
punctuation, and spacing mistakes.
→ Action verbs. Use action verbs to highlight your suc-
cesses.
→ Personalise your CV. Write different versions of your
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◼  PHOTO (while not mandatory, most recruiters
and creatives appreciate it). You can have a
second version of your CV to be used for those
companies that have a no-photo-CV policy
◼  NAME AND SURNAME
◼  ROLE (if you want, you can indicate the
role you wish or with which you identify: i.e.
Exhibition curator I Publishing editor I Museum
curator)
◼  DATE OF BIRTH
◼  ADDRESS
◼  Personal TELEPHONE NUMBER
◼  Professional E-MAIL ADDRESS
(example: name.surname@gmail.com)
◼  WEBSITE/LINK to the digital portfolio/
Behance/Vimeo/LinkedIn (add a hyperlink and
make sure it works)
◼  You can include your SOCIAL PROFILES but
only if they are professional

CV for the different types of positions for which you intend

to apply.

Visual Arts Area | 9

→ Submit a PDF version with your name. Use a docu-
professional toolkit

ment file format that can be turned easily into a PDF, to pre-

2
vent employers from viewing your CV with layout changes. Be
Personal description
sure to rename the file as follows: Name_Surname_CV.
This section is optional. Many companies appreci-
→ Be creative. Creativity is encouraged for artistic profiles.
ate it only if creative. You can write a couple of sen-
It is a way to highlight your skills and personality while pre-
senting your experiences. Bear in mind, however, that creativ- tences about your career path and the goals you are
ity must not overshadow the purpose of the CV; it should be a interested in pursuing. Your way of expressing your
frame for it instead. Your CV, along with your portfolio, repre- passions, motivations and goals in a concise and
sent a business card that communicates your style as a crea- original way is taken into consideration.
tive. Therefore, we suggest you not to use the Europass format
(unless requested by the company).
 → Remember not to repeat information that can be
found in another section of your CV (for example: I am a
TIPS NABA student, I attend the BA Fashion Design course).
→ It is preferable to avoid mentioning skills that com-
panies take for granted (for example: I am an enthusias-
4 Professional experience
Write your professional experience in chronological
order (from the most recent), including date (from -
tic, determined, organised person, I perform well under
pressure, I work well in a team, I am a problem-solver). to), Company Name, Job Title and Location (City,
You can highlight these skills in your cover letter, with Country). We suggest you to distinguish whether it
the help of practical examples that point them out. is an internship, a freelance collaboration or another
type of collaboration.
Also, you can include:
◼  Brief description of your role or main responsi-

3 Training
◼  Write your qualifications in CHRONOLOGICAL
bilities
◼  Department
ORDER (from the most recent), including the ◼  Important results achieved
date (from - to), the Name of the Institution, the
Name of the Course, the Location (City, Country),
and your grade or weighted average (if high).
Example:
◼  We recommend that you include information on
September 2020 – December 2020
the Bachelor of Arts if you are attending a Post-
Flash Art Magazine, Milan, Italy
graduate course. You can include information on Assistant Editor
your high school only if you are attending the BA.
November 2019 – August 2020
◼  As additional information, you can add the TITLE La Triennale di Milano, Milan, Italy
OF THE THESIS, the subjects that make up your Cultural mediator, internship
I developed mediation activities within the museum exhibition spaces and
course of study, or any relevant collaborations. guided tours.
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5
Example:
Competences

Visual Arts Area | 11

September 2019 – now ◼  LANGUAGE COMPETENCES: Highlight your
professional toolkit

NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milan, Italy

Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Visual Arts
→ The person reading your CV may not be familiar with
TIPS your institution or title, so avoid acronyms and use the
full name.
knowledge of languages with the relevant levels.
Also, indicate your mother tongue. If you know a
language at beginner/elementary level, we sug-
gest you to avoid including it in your CV.

→ Write NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti

→ and not acronyms or translations not recognised by the Example:
MUR such as: NABA/NABA UNIVERSITY/NABA NEW ACADEMY OF Italian: Mother tongue
FINE ART English: Fluent
Chinese: Intermediate
 → Moreover, if you have a language certificate such as TOE-

6
FL, IELTS, HSK, bear in mind that they last two years, so if
Further achievements
more than 2 years have passed, do not add this information.
◼  SCHOLARSHIPS
◼  AWARDS
◼  PUBLICATIONS
◼  DIGITAL COMPETENCES: indicates the soft-
◼  PROJECTS
ware you know and highlight the level of knowl-
◼  EXHIBITIONS
edge of each of them.

Example:
Publisher, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, etc.
→ We suggest you to present the software programmes ac-
7 Voluntary working

cording to your level of knowledge, indicate first those with

which you are more familiar.

8 Interests

◼  TECHNICAL COMPETENCES: list additional

competences. You can include artistic compe-
tences and/or transversal competences.

9 Privacy consent
The Italian legislation requires to insert the following
Example: sentence at the bottom of the last page within the
◼ Preparation and planning of exhibitions; CV:
◼ Digital and analogue photographic skills, documentation ‘I hereby authorise the processing of my personal
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in the visual arts sector (exhibitions, backstage, performance, etc.),

shooting and photographic sets and related post-production; data present in the curriculum vitae pursuant to Leg-
◼ Filmmaking and video editing, of both artistic and documentary projects islative Decree June 30, 2003, no. 196 and to GDPR

Visual Arts Area | 13

◼ Development of critical texts, reviews of exhibitions, contemporary art
679/16’.
professional toolkit

essays;
◼ Drawing, painting, painting techniques, contemporary sculpture, video,
photography;
◼ Knowledge of the history of modern and contemporary art, film history,
museology; → International CV. When drafting your CV, please
◼ Curatorship of exhibitions in public and private spaces including
museums, promotion of the same;
note that if you are applying in another country, you will TIPS
◼ Etc. need to comply with the guidelines of said country.
 Action verbs
The use of action verbs will allow you to express yourself more
clearly and incisively in your CV, portfolio and cover letter. In
this way, you will avoid the use of adjectives that would
make the content redundant.
By way of example, but not limited to, find below is a list: use
the verbs that best suit your needs.
Example:
◼ Set up: Set up an exhibition
◼ Catalogue: Catalogued the works
◼ Collaborate: Collaborated with the Gallery/ Artist
◼ Convert: Converted weaknesses into strengths
◼ Manage: Managed the Archive
◼ Organise: Organised the team’s work
◼ Design: Designed a new collection

Sketching/Sketched Achieve/Achieved Manage/Managed Publish/Published

Deal with/Dealt with Coordinate/Coordinated Conceive/Conceived Collect/Collected

Update/Updated Build/Built Innovate/Innovated Reach/Reached

Analyse/Analysed Contribute/Contributed Undertake/Undertaken Represent/Represented

Assign/Assigned Create/Created Introduce/Introduced Search/Searched

Increase/Increased Direct/Directed Enhance/Enhanced Develop/Developed

Start/Started Discuss/Discussed Organise/Organised Simplify/Simplified

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Visual Arts Area | 15

Collaborate/Collaborated Draw/Drawn Participate/Participated Carry out/Carried out
professional toolkit

Complete/Completed Execute/Executed Plan/Planned Tested/Tested

Communicate/Communicated Facilitate/Facilitated Design/Designed Transform/Transformed

Lead/Led Found/Founded Program/Programmed Win/Won

Cover
w ri t e a c
When you apply for a position, you may be asked for a pres- to
w

ov
entation letter (or cover letter or motivational letter). You

Ho

er l
need to write a professional presentation with which you have

etter
the opportunity to show your interest in the position for which

?
you are applying, as well as to show your interest in the com-

letter
pany. Highlight the strengths that you can offer with your ap-
plication, always making reference to the vacancy.
→ The cover letter needs to present a header with the re-
cipient’s data (possibly name and surname, to address it to a
specific person) and needs to include your personal informa-
tion so that you can be contacted (name, surname, telephone
number and e-mail address).
→ You can use the cover letter format by attaching it in PDF for-
mat to the application or by adding it as a text in an e-mail that
you will write to apply for a job offer.

Tips and sections

→ Be short. One page is enough.
Divide the text in 3 parts:

TION T S
D UC MEN LUS
ION
O E LOP C
INTR DEV CON

→ Beware of typos and grammar mistakes.

→ Start with a short introduction. State immediately the

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reason why you are writing (for example, I am applying for the
position of…). Introduce yourself briefly and specify the rea-

Visual Arts Area | 17

sons that lead you to apply for a specific job position; also talk
professional toolkit

about your stimuli, interests, and values – the reason why you
are choosing that company rather than another.

→ Use the first person. The letter is a text where you talk
about yourself and explain the reasons why you are applying
for a specific position: avoid using the third person.

→ What makes you the person for whom they are look-
ing. Introduce yourself to the employer, talk about your expe-
riences, focus on the aspects that show you are eligible for the
position.
 Portfolio
→ Personalise it according to the position. Include key-
words related to the position for which you are applying and
use vocabulary that highlights your aptitudes and skills. Do
not be generic.

→ Do your research. Do not limit the letter to your skills.

Study the company, investigate, do your research. Try to iden-
tify the common features between your interests and objec-
tives and those of the company. Let the employer know that
you have studied the company and highlight the reasons why
you intend to work for them.

→ Do not tell the entire CV. Avoid being repetitive: you al-
ready have a CV that explains the facts, what you can do, how
you can do it, what you have studied. Emphasise the added
value that you may bring with your competences to the com-
pany and the position.

→ Give examples. If you wish to talk about your soft skills,

feel free to do it but give some examples. It is not enough to
say, for example, that you are good at working under stress:
provide a specific example of when, either at school or in the
workplace, you have had the opportunity to handle in the best
way a stressful situation, deliveries with tight deadlines, etc.

→ Make a closing statement. End the letter on a positive

note, thank them for their availability, and make yourself avail-
able for an interview.
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Visual Arts Area | 19

professional toolkit
 re a por tf The portfolio is a short selection of your projects thanks to
pa
which you have the opportunity to show your best works and
ol
e
How to pr
io
your strongest technical skills: it is a marketing tool to en-
hance yourself, and for this reason it is fundamental to select
your works accurately and to organise it clearly and tidily.
Therefore, the realisation of a vague portfolio, with poor layout
?
or with low resolution images could provide an incorrect im-
age and presentation of yourself, making you miss opportu-
nities or even misleading your interlocutor towards a reading
different from reality.
The portfolio is your business card: it needs to capture the at-
tention immediately. Not only do a consistent design, even
with your CV, and some repeated graphic elements allow you
to provide the documents with a professional look, but they al-
so help the recruiter to remember the candidate more easily,
associating distinctive characteristics to each one.
If you have a specific role or interest, create a portfolio with
projects that demonstrate that you own the right skills for that
position. If you are open to different roles, submit projects for
each area of interest, dividing the portfolio into sections (pre-
senting the division in the index).
Important considerations
→ Be concise. Present a 20-30 page portfolio. If you want to
show more works, add clickable links that lead the employer to
your website, Behance, Vimeo, YouTube or Instagram (only if it
is a professional profile).
| 20
→ Be neat. Use a readable and clean font. Keep the same
structure, font and style in the different projects in the portfo-
lio, in order to provide a sense of continuity.
professional toolkit
→ Create a light format. Make sure that the employer can
download your portfolio from smartphone devices, create a
PDF of maximum 10 MB.
→ Identify yourself. Make sure you add your name and sur-
name on each page of your portfolio, and name the file as fol-
lows: Name_Surname_Portfolio.
→ Layout. Use a clear layout, with a balanced colour pal-
ette. Create a legible and impacting layout: this is also a way to
show your skills and personality.
→ Style. The layout, the choice of fonts and style, needs to
be the same for all the pages of the website. (example: if you
decide to use the Arial font, make sure it is the same for all the
pages and all the projects in the portfolio). Any graphic choice
you make will represent your style (e.g. vintage, fashion, pop,
minimal, classic, etc...) and therefore your creativity. Creativity
is encouraged for artistic profiles. However, bear in mind that
creativity should not overshadow the purpose of the portfolio,
while it should frame it.
→ Images and video. Photos and videos need a high defini-
tion (minimum 300 dpi).
→ Mistakes. Do not underestimate typos. Always remember
to double check or activate the automatic corrector option on
your computer.
→ Link. Make sure that the links to your works are working.
→ Language. Always use the same language and one lan-
guage only. For example, if you decide to create your portfolio
in Italian, use Italian texts only; if you decide to create it in Eng-
lish, write the English texts and do not mix the two languages.
In both cases, you have to prove that you know the language
you are using.
→ Do not be afraid to ask people you know for feed-
TIPS
back on your portfolio (Industry Relations and Career
Service office, colleagues, lecturers, mentors).
→ References/quotes/images. If you use images, quotes
Visual Arts Area | 21
or references taken from sites, magazines or other, always re-
port the source from which you took inspiration. Remember to
avoid copying ideas from other projects as this can be consid-
ered plagiarism.
→ Create a website as a digital portfolio. You can create
a digital portfolio on a platform such as Behance or Wiix, or
your personal website.
 Sections and contents
of the portfolio
1 Cover page
Write ‘Portfolio’ followed with your name, surname,
and profession (if defined).
If you are open to different roles, it is better to write
a more generic figure so as not to hamper other
opportunities.
2 Table of contents
Identify a presentation criterion: present your pro-
jects from the most recent/relevant or divide the
portfolio by thematic sections. If you decide to pres-
ent projects from different areas, divide the portfolio
into sections so that employers can identify their
area of interest and check directly the projects that
concern them.
3
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Presentation (‘About me’)
This section is optional, but you can include a short
presentation. In this part you can bring out your
professional toolkit
uniqueness, it is the ‘how’ you do things, ‘what you
are like’, ‘what you like’, ‘what’ is important to you’.
How are you unique?
4 Projects
What type of projects should I include in my port-
folio?
◼  MAIN PROJECTS: the projects you consider to
be the most successful and most representative
of the creative or professional direction you want
to undertake.
◼  SECONDARY PROJECTS: projects that develop
in areas of your competence, but for which you
show a secondary interested.
Select 5-10 projects or works that you consider to be the
most relevant (balancing the quantities of school and ex-
tra-school projects if any).
If you present your works, give enough space to the im-
ages.
Try not to exceed a maximum of 20/30 total pages.
For each project, include a title and a short description,
underlining whether the project was developed in an edu-
cational or professional context (example: ‘Academy/Uni-
versity/Company, Year, Project Name’ → ‘NABA, Nuova
Accademia di Belle Arti, 2020, project name’), and whether
it was developed as an individual project or as a group pro-
ject. In case of group work, remember to specify your role.
The layout is at the student’s discretion, and it is a way
per se to start showing your style and your skills. We sug-
Visual Arts Area | 23
gest you to avoid exceeding 3 pages for each project and
include a maximum of 3/4 images, according to what you
prefer to highlight: it is possible to include a single image
in a full page and, to follow, some significant details. It is
advisable to focus more on images rather than on writing,
explaining the technical specifications in a concise way.
Remember that if you need to include the materials used,
be as concise as the captions of the museums. We sug-
gest you to include colour and high quality drawings.
Your portfolio should not appear only as a summary of the
 projects developed during your training, but it is an opportu-
nity to show your artistic or professional evolution. This is
why it is important to make a selection of the best works
and show their variety, proving that you can handle dif-
ferent types of projects in different areas. It is therefore
important for your portfolio to demonstrate your personal
identity and style at the same time, but also your ability to
be versatile and to adapt to different clients.
5 Competences
Thanks to the portfolio, you have the opportunity
and possibility to introduce yourself through your
work and show your skills directly with your pro-
jects, publications and ideas.
If you do not have a specific project for the position/
area for which you are applying, elaborate a new
one so as to show your skills, your creativity and
your desire to do things and get involved.
If you are a profile interested in:
VISUAL ARTS/PHOTOGRAPHY
| 24
You have the opportunity to show the theoretical
and technical skills related to your medium of ex-
pression, such as painting, illustration, video, use of
professional toolkit
cameras and knowledge of editing tools. Choose
representative images that fully demonstrate your
skills.
Add a technical caption and a short description of
the work. If you want to include video projects, se-
lect some screenshots and include the link for the
whole video in the description.
If you are a profile interested in
CURATORIAL STUDIES/ART MARKETS
You have the opportunity to show your critical think-
ing and writing skills, your knowledge about art his-
tory, the curatorial industry or art markets, and how
you have implemented this knowledge.
You can choose some of your essays, articles, pub-
lications, reviews, exhibitions, installations that high-
light your research, curatorial, and critical thinking
skills.
6
Last page
Your portfolio will end with a page containing your
contact information: name and surname, e-mail
and mobile phone number. If you have other online
projects that you have not submitted in the paper
portfolio, you can include the hyperlink of your on-
line portfolio with the words ‘click here for further
works’.
→ Remember, no portfolio is final, it is important to up-
Visual Arts Area | 25
date and modify it. Do not be afraid to replace some pro- TIPS
jects newer ones or with projects more in line with your
goal or with the company for which you are applying.
 Tips on
Create a website/a digital
portfolio
Employers do appreciate the creation of a personal website.
When creating a website, you have the possibility to custom-

the labour
ise your online image and highlight your ability to build and
structure a website. It is advisable to create a landing page;
an ‘About me’ section where you introduce yourself and talk
about your aspirations, a section dedicated to your projects,
and one for your contacts. You can also create a digital portfo-

market
lio on a free platform such as Behance or Wiix.
As for the paper portfolio, divide the section dedicated to pro-
jects by areas so that employers can identify their area of inter-
est and check directly the projects that concern them.
In the case of a website or digital portfolio, include the clicka-
ble link within your CV.
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Visual Arts Area | 27

professional toolkit
 The 5 key points for addressing
effectively the access to the
labour market
1. I ‘GRADUATED’… AND NOW?
The first step after obtaining the academic degree is to under-
stand what you wish to become.
The Industry Relations and Career Service office, through the
Job Corner service, can support you with a career orientation
interview and in defining your strategy for accessing the la-
bour market.
2. WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Prepare a CV and a portfolio in line with the internship/job
offers for which you intend to apply.
It is good to be active on social networks, especially those
dedicated to job offers such as LinkedIn and Behance.
→ Pay attention to your ‘digital reputation’. What you post
and share on social media such as Facebook or Instagram de-
fines your profile and can influence a careful recruiter.
| 28
3. WHERE DO I APPLY?
The Industry Relations and Career Service office provides a
specific digital platform, NABASymplicity (https://naba-csm.
professional toolkit
symplicity.com), dedicated to NABA students and alumni, as a
meeting place for the labour market supply and demand.
Do not forget to check periodically the major job search en-
gines present online, such as Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn, etc.
The ‘Work with us’ sections of the companies that usually ad-
vertise vacancies are fundamental.
4. IF I AM INVITED FOR A JOB
INTERVIEW, WHAT SHOULD I
DO?
It is necessary to:
◼  study thoroughly the company for which you are applying
◼  carefully read the internship/job offer for which you are ap-
plying, in order to avoid being caught off guard
◼  know the person with whom you will speak during the in-
terview (write down the name and surname of the person
who invited you for the interview and their job title)
To get all the necessary information, just resort to the appro-
priate channels, that is:
◼  LinkedIn profile or other social media
◼  Any dedicated website
◼  Information and reviews reported by Google
→ Never forget to write down the address and
time of the meeting. TIPS
A good recruiter always considers positively an on-
time and accurate candidate.
5. HOW DO I APPROACH A JOB
INTERVIEW?
There is no general rule, but here are some useful tips:
Visual Arts Area | 29
◼  be on time and be prepared
◼  dress appropriately (consider the working environment
where you are applying)
◼  answer consistently and clearly to the recruiter’s questions
◼  ask for information regarding the type of work
◼  deal professionally with salary-related questions
◼  always show a dynamic, proactive and professional atti-
tude
◼  show that you are flexible and ready to adapt
 www.naba.it

NABA
Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti
INDUSTRY RELATIONS
AND CAREER SERVICE OFFICE
E careerservices@naba.it
T 02 97372204