Applying for jobs in visual effects, animation and gaming can be challenging, so let’s reveal the secrets that are holding you back from achieving your dreams. Join our talk at the FMX 2025 to learn about proper job application with a CV, a Showreel, a fitting Cover Letter and of course a LinkedIn profile to successfully land a job in the creative industry.
Here is my talk as a birthday present to you, available until the end of October:
Struggling to land that first (or next) gig in VFX/animation/games? As a TD with credits at Wētā FX, Framestore, and Mackevision—I want to break down the job hunt: recruiters skim your CV in ~5 seconds, so kill the noise and surface only what ticks their boxes. Juniors: one-page PDF, spreadsheet-clean, job title matching the listing word-for-word.
Your showreel is the core product: <2 minutes, best shot first, second-best last, and crystal-clear labels of what you actually did. Use Vimeo for stable links, and if you lean technical, show the tool in action right after the result.
We cover the full pipeline, CV, reel, cover letter, social media, plus the awkward bits most talks gloss over: tailoring per listing, “checkbox thinking,” and pattern recognition in HR. Translate skills into the studio’s language, name the DCCs (Maya, Nuke, Houdini, etc.), and make sure Linux/Python show up when the studio asks for them. Socials aren’t a free-for-all: keep LinkedIn professional, demonstrate growth, and avoid hot takes that read like “do not hire.”
For early-career artists with “too little” experience, my remedy is pragmatic: ship small team projects (10–60 seconds beats a doomed 5-minute epic), write concise role blurbs under school work, and let the cover letter carry hidden strengths and goals. Growth > perfection: apply, improve, re-apply on a 6-month cadence. And as a closet: practical negotiating basics, loke how to do your salary homework, always ask (politely), and come prepared with a number.
If you’re a production-minded artist, this is 100% worth your time, and it’s free to watch for a limited window, where a workshop like this would usually cost real money. Share it with juniors in your studio, run a reel-review lunch-and-learn, or use it as a checklist before FMX/IBC hiring rounds. Watch now, take notes, and make your next application look like a recruiter’s dream instead of their paper jam.
