20/2 Mock Interview Reflection

Listening back to this now! First off, yes I did sweat the paper stock, I tried a few out at the art shop and in the end the best was colourtech. The two other times I have employed this CV successfully so far (internship and photographique job) there hasn’t been been a need to have it on paper, so I wonder if this will ever matter much in the long run, but it’s nice to have got the form of the CV down anyway. I feel a lot more confident behind this bit of paper than other’s I’ve produced in the past. It feels exciting to me, it emphasises the bits of my history and self that I like, and it was designed from scratch on indesign so it just looks better than it would otherwise and makes me prouder. Something this interview didn’t require, but which I feel like reflecting on anyway within the wider interview process (which I was subjected to 3 times that week, from the research discussion to photographique to this!) is a cover letter. When Alex and Ben talked me through the application for their original (rip) internship, they asked for one and I used the opportunity to ask what they would like a cover letter to address. They said something which I think I will take with me through all future applications: we want to know your strengths and your weaknesses, you will have them, we just want to know how we can support them. So since then I’ve started to make my weaknesses a part of my strength, and that’s another reason why I feel more proud behind my CV. I feel like I am fully showing up, as myself, and people can take it or leave it. I’ll attach the cover letter I wrote to this file, but essentially there’s a gap in my CV where I dossed about in Europe, but I grew as a person through it, overcame some tough times, and now I have the strength of knowing exactly who I am and why I’m here. It’s this sort of conversation that I think helped me to stand out in my Photographique interview, alongside the fact that I was the one to confidently bring up my own weaknesses
Definitely need to tighten up my answers, I don’t think I come across as excited and confident in this recording, which is a shame, but I think the thoughtfulness is still present. I was knackered from the few days before, also from life, but excuses aside I think that it would do me a lot of good to have a second crack at this process, maybe another dry run or maybe an actual one who knows! I’m going to need to hold myself to account during the internship to make sure that I have conversations about curating, develop opinions and try them out against opinionated folk, basically sharpen my perspective and be vulnerable in exposing it to the actual world and risking a bit of ridicule.
I start to get a lot more engaged after the question about making up an imaginary exhibition, obviously. I can remember the images of this show forming as I listened to Jim pose the question. I am so glad there is a use in the world for a brain that works visually like this, even if this mock interview is the only space where that vision ever gets tested. When Jim mentioned Kamera, I had a whole different show in mind that I would’ve loved to talk about too. One thing I’ll say is that I need to get more proficient at modelling my ideas so that they can become more useable. 3D modelling would be good for example. Basically, I shouldn’t consider the ability to imagine shows on the spot anywhere close to the finished product, I need to be able to do the whole process beginning, to end, from plan to construction to event management. And that is what I am looking forward to learning during the internship.