I Used My Facebook to Write My Curriculum Vitae (CV)
By Sheila L. Ferguson @jealousyjane
“A curriculum vitae (English: /kəˈrɪkjʊləm ˈviːtaɪ, -ˈwiːtaɪ, -ˈvaɪtiː/)[1][2]
(often shortened CV or vita) is a written overview of a person's experience and
other qualifications for a job opportunity. It is akin to a résumé in North America.
In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters
regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by
an interview. CVs may also be requested for applicants to postsecondary programs,
scholarships, grants and bursaries.” (Wikipedia)
At 36 years old, only a few months ago, I met with a new friend who is also an author,
she has much more professional experience, so she is also a mentor of sorts. We were
discussing the new artistic direction I feel storming, calling me inside. I can tell my focus
is shifting from outward concepts, and I feel myself withdrawing into the self. There is
work there I must face. My gut is admonishing me to write rather than placing my focus
solely on the world of fashion, yet nearly all my publications experiences have been in
the realm of fashion., My artistic expression is ever-changing, ever-evolving so I enjoy
allowing myself to explore any medium or discipline that suits a specific project. A
resume would not be able to reflect the journey of my work and publication history in
a concise way. This is when she suggested I compile a CV. (Thank you S, you know who
you are.) I am embarrassed to admit I had no idea what that even was. I had to ask, and
then google it more in depth later.
I had to give myself a few days to think about solutions for how I could possibly go
back and organize all the publications, and runway shows, etc. that I had done in my
career over the past 12 years. I realized I could simply log onto my Facebook Business
account and review my photo albums. I had unknowingly created a beautiful and accurate
timeline of nearly all the archived information required. I had done most of this work already,
I thought with celebration! This will be much easier than I had thought.
After I entered in all the information I had harvested from my Facebook Business Page,
I cross-referenced with a similar archive on my personal page, checking for any albums I
may have skipped over in the process. If you decide to do this, here is a tip: do not forget
to check your timeline and mobile uploads, and milestones, and education and work
history for even more information to help complete the task. , Another tip: you can also
check your Instagram account for anything not already mentioned in your CV.
Thankfully, because I had been so detail-oriented in my social media management
and marketing, I had assigned captions to each image with credits of the creatives on
the team, the title of the piece, where it was published, links to more info or where to
buy the magazine, I could very easily begin compiling the information and plugging it
into the format I found on this template:
https://templates.office.com/en-us/Curriculum-vitae-TM10169559.
My CV upon current completion is 5 pages long at 8pt font! I cannot imagine how long
it would have taken me to curate that information without the assistance of my
Facebook account/social media management skills. To view my currently up-to-date
CV you can look here: https://www.jealousyjane.com/cv