Battle of the University Artists: Who Gets the Job?
You are an artist applying for a prestigious position as the chair of the Art Department at the Virtual University of the Arts. Competition for this position is fierce. There are many great artists applying and you must show your skills as a communicator, as well as your talents as an artist.
1. Select an artist whose work you admire. If you need suggestions, take a look at the list of possible candidates for the job or browse through the many art books in our library. You may also want to visit a few Web museums to view the works of a number of artists.
2. Prepare a multimedia presentation including at least 10 cards, but no more than 20.
Try to convey your message in a manner that enhances the artist's style. Your fonts, colors, bullets and other multimedia elements should serve to express the tone, feeling, style and period of the artist. You should be able to present this material as the artist. You should be able to answer the interviewers questions based on your research and creativity.
Please cover all the following in your presentation. You may use this list as an outline for your slides or cards.
2. Creating a formal resume and cover letter. There are excellent Web resources to guide you.
In real life, you will need to present a resume and cover letter whenever you are searching for a job. Because your resume is often the first impression an employer gets of you, it must be carefully prepared. In fact, it must be perfect! Spelling and grammatical errors are the "kiss of death" in resume writing. The document should be neat, ideally prepared on high quality paper.
You are to create a resume for a famous artist. Try to create a resume with as much historical accuracy as possible. But be creative and show your talents off. Brag. Describe the hardships you have had to overcome. Your artist's resume should include employment objective (Chair of the Art Department at the Virtual University of the Arts); your education; employment background; awards and honors; hobbies and outside interests.
Your word processor may include templates for creating a resume, feel free to use those formats as guides, but you may create a more attractive model on your own.
Bring copies of your resume and cover letter for the interview committee (our class) to share. They will be reviewing your credentials during the interview process.
Resources:
Once you select an artist, the best approach may be using a subject directories like: Britannica Internet Guide: http://www.britannica.com or Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com or more specifically Yahoo: Art History: Periods and Movements http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Art_History/Periods_and_Movements/
Students may also want to use biographical resources, and encyclopedias, either electronic or print.
Some gateway sites for art:
Resume and Interview Resources
Your investigation into the life of a famous artist will be graded on the quality of three finished products--a resume, a cover letter and a mulitmedia artists statement--as well as your oral presentation during the interview/presentation. The task assessment rubrics will guide you in creating quality products.