The CV Doctor: CV for an M.F.A.

This candidate would like to find a position where he can teach in his creative field (screenwriting and film production) and continue to work as a writer and filmmaker. For an M.F.A., creative achievement in the arts is analogous to publications for a Ph.D. His CV is thoughtfully organized, so our suggestions on that count are minor, but it has some serious format problems that contribute to a disjointed look. Some phrases end with periods; others don’t. Include periods if there is a verb in the phrase; otherwise, omit them. Get rid of too many graphics. This CV includes bullets, arrows, underscoring, italics, boldface, two font sizes, and three margins. In addition, a single line is skipped after some headings but not after others. Italics are used inconsistently, sometimes to indicate the name of an institution, other times to indicate the name of the position or the title of a film. Bullets are used unnecessarily. Bullets are great for lists such as this candidate’s list of “Teaching Competencies” but are superfluous when placed before each entry in a section. These are all little things, but to make a good impression, the candidate must show on his CV that he has paid attention to detail.

-- Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick

Examples:

• CV for an A.B.D. in the humanities
• CV for an administrator
• CV for a Ph.D. with a prior professional career
• CV for a Ph.D. in the health professions

EDUCATION²

• Sectarian University, City, State

• MFA, Script and Screenwriting, summa cum laude, 2002

  Portfolio: “Things That Go Bump in the Night: Writing the Play from Premise to Fourth Draft”³

• Sectarian University, City, State

  M.A., Communication, summa cum laude, 1995

• Major: Cinema/Television Emphases: Directing/Editing and Scriptwriting

  Portfolio: “Persistence of Vision: Alternative Scriptwriting & Variations on the Film Noir”

• Liberal-Arts College, City, State

  B.A., English, summa cum laude, 1993
  

• Studies strongly favored the modern period, including Joyce, Eliot, Pound, et al. Additional classwork in Twentieth Century Culture, Literary Criticism, Creative Writing, Victorian Lit., Philosophy, Introduction to Human Communication, and Introduction to the Mass Media.

• Cambridge University, Cambridge, England

• Studied under Peter Raby, Head of English and Drama, Homerton College, Cambridge, during a semester-long program. Studied Shakespearean Literature, Modern British Literature and Drama, and British History and Culture. Wrote independent study project, “Manifestations of the Will in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot,” an examination of Schopenhauer’s influence on Beckett’s writing.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING⁴

• Adjunct Professor, Professional Writing Skills, Sectarian University Robertson School of Government. (Fall 2002-present)
• Course Designer/Adjunct Professor of University Writing Workshop, Sectarian University. (Summer 1999-Spring 2000) Designed, taught, and supervised readers/graders for a writing workshop designed to assist graduate students with principles of good academic writing (face-to-face and online).
• Adjunct Professor of Business Writing, Sectarian University School of Business. (Fall 1996-Spring 1997)
  Taught essentials of business writing to all incoming MBA students (face-to-face and online).
• Master Instructor Program, Sectarian University. (1999-2000)
  Completed instructional-mentor training course. Received training in the areas of collaborative coaching, instructional design, adult learning theories, and instructional technology. Certified faculty serve the university as instructional mentors and/or trainers

TEACHING COMPETENCIES/INTERESTS

• Filmmaking: Production Techniques
• Digital Video Production
• Post-Production Aesthetics
• Non-Linear Post-Production
• Directing for Film and Television
• Feature Film Screenwriting
• Narrative Adaptation
• Advanced Screenwriting (Rewriting)
• Writing the Short Film
• Faith and Filmmaking

WRITING/DIRECTING/FILM PRODUCTION CAREER HIGHLIGHTS⁵

• Writer/Producer/Director/Editor, Keeping Up With the Joneses (25 minute DV short)

• => Screened at San Francisco Independent Film Festival

  => Screened in the Hollywood.com Indie Film Festival (July 2002)

  => Screened at Regent/NARO 2002 Film Festival

  • Writer, Malevolence, feature film for Fukuzo Productions & Director Kurando Mitsutake (adaptation of my original play). Production slated for August 2003.
  • Quarterfinalist in the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting (Keeping Up With the Joneses)
  • Semifinalist (top 20) in the Slamdance Screenplay Competition (Keeping Up With the Joneses)
  • Semifinalist in the Chesterfield Writers Film Project (Filming Faustus)
  • Finalist in Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program/Screenwriters Lab (Death of a Clergyman)
  • Quarterfinalist in The Writers Network Screenplay Competition (Filming Faustus)
  • Writer/Director, Flanagan’s Exile, an hour-long film. Awards and festival screenings include:
    

  • => 1997 Angel Award from Excellence In Media

    => Semifinalist in the Angelus Awards

    => Screened at NY Int’l Indep. Film Festival 97

    => Screened at Telluride Indiefest ’97

    => Screened at Film Front Festival

    => Screened in UFVA Faculty Showcase

    => Screened in UFVA Film Festival

    • Other Produced Scripts:

    • => Our Father: 30-minute drama (The Family Channel [International Family Entertainment])

      • Writer/Producer/Director/Editor, multiple educational videos for instructional purposes⁶
      • Art Director, Dirty Day, 30-minute production (Lumen 2000 Foundation).
      • Asst. Editor, Something Borrowed, Something Blue (Regent Pictures).
      • Props/Art Dept, The Party, 30-minute production (Lumen 2000 Foundation).

RELATED FILM/TV/THEATER INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

• First Round Judge, Sectarian One Act Play Festival -- October 2002-January 2001
• Television Columnist: See Spot Think (www.seespotthink.com) -- January-April 2001
• Regional Judge/Jury Member: Cine Golden Eagle Awards -- 1998-present
• Directed The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, Liberal-Arts College Main Stage (500 seat theater), 1993.

PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED LECTURES

• Syllabus ’99 Poster Presentation: “From Cradle to Grave: Facilitating Online Learning by Creating an Online Environment,” July 1999.
• Religious University: Guest lecturer on “Questions of Identity in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo” in First Year Writing class, February 1997.
• Alpha Chi Regional Conference: “Manifestations of the Will in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot,” March 1992, at the regional conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Multiple Guest Lectures: Various film and writing courses, Regent University.
• Liberal-Arts College: Guest lecturer on “Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot” in Modern Literature class, spring 1991.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND MEDIA DESIGN EXPERIENCE⁷

Senior Media Producer/Instructional Media Designer, Sectarian University Center for Teaching and Learning (formerly the Instructional Support and Technology Center)
February 1999-present

• Serve as project manager, designer, and initial point of contact on all instructional multimedia production projects. Design and develop media enhancements for use in graduate courses (including writing, producing directing, and editing)
• Consult with graduate university faculty on matters of curriculum, course design, and instructional technology/delivery method.
• Participate as key member of the project management team to develop new face-to-face courses and e-learning courses and to translate existing course content to the e-learning format using the current course delivery software (Blackboard)
• Develop instructional strategies using multimedia
• Participate in the development of assessment/testing models and asynchronous course design.
• Serve on development and review teams for new curriculum and program incentives.
• Develop, design, and teach workshops on various instructional and technology topics.
• Conduct research for potential conference presentations.

Instructional Specialist, Sectarian University School of Business⁸
July 1998-February 1999

Worked with faculty to redesign and implement new MBA curriculum, with emphasis on innovative delivery methods and fully integrated and cohesive curriculum. Designed and maintained expansive school website that included innovative techniques for both administrative and educational functions. Consulted with faculty on computer issues and problems.

Special Projects Coordinator, Sectarian University School of Business⁸
December 1995-July 1998

Designed and maintained expansive school website that included innovative techniques for both administrative and educational functions. Implemented innovative techniques such as online registration and course evaluation to make administrative functions more efficient. Consulted with faculty on computer issues and problems. Edited and wrote articles for alumni newsletter.

HONORS, AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP⁹

• Language Arts Departmental Award Winner, Liberal-Arts College, 1993.
• President, Sigma Tau Delta (national English honor society), Liberal-Arts College, 1991-93.
• President, Alpha Chi (national honor society), Liberal-Arts College, 1992-93.
• Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, 1992-93.
• National Dean’s List, 1993.
• Academic Merit Scholar, Sectarian University, 1993-95.
• Centennial Scholar, Liberal-Arts College, 1989-93

1.) The brief profile of the candidate that follows the contact information is an excellent idea for someone who wants both to teach and to produce in an artistic area. It would stand out better, and be more interesting, as a short paragraph with a little more description than the bulleted points currently offer.

2.) The CV should highlight the candidate’s degrees rather than the name of the institution that awarded them. The bullet points in this section are unnecessary and make the section seem too busy visually. In addition, the institutions he attended, while well-known within their geographic region, are not as well known outside it. And both institutions he attended are Christian institutions. Since there may be people on search committees with a bias against such institutions, listing the degrees before the institutions could help the candidate. Here’s how the information could read: M.F.A, Script and Screenwriting, summa cum laude, 2002, Sectarian University, City, State.

3.) The candidate needs to provide more description here. It’s unclear what the portfolio is and what it includes. The way it is listed, it looks like a thesis.

4.) Change the heading to “Communication/Writing Teaching Experience.” Get rid of the bullets; they don’t add anything. The candidate might want to include a subsection listing courses that he has taught.

5.) The material in this section is equivalent to the list of publications on a Ph.D.'s vita or the list of exhibitions of a visual-arts scholar. Unfortunately, the information here is not presented effectively. It’s too busy and hard to follow. Keep the bullets in this section, but get rid of the arrows. It’s also not clear why the dates of some film screenings are given and others are omitted. The CV appears to list six or seven films here, depending on how you count them. It would be better to list all of these films, along with their screenings, dates, and any awards they won, in a separate section called something like “Scripts Written, Directed, or Produced.” It should be inserted on the first page of the CV, right after the “Education” section.

6.) These four entries could be added to the next section, “Related Film/TV/Theater Industry Experience.” Omit periods unless there is a verb in the phrase.

7.) We assume that this is the candidate’s current full-time position. Since he would prefer a teaching career, he is right to minimize this position by mentioning it on the third page of his CV. He might minimize it even further by removing a few of the bulleted points.

8.) Since the candidate used bullets in the first item of this section, he should use the same format for these two entries.

9.) All of the entries here are more than 10 years old and were earned at the undergraduate level. The candidate might want to pick one or two to include in the B.A. entry under “Education,” and omit this section entirely.

10.) The candidate’s four recommenders are from the same religious university. As we’ve already stated, some hiring-committee members may hold a bias against applicants from such institutions, so it would be nice if the candidate had at least one reference from someone at another college.