Explore Career Resources

What Is a Résumé?

Think of your résumé as a concise, compelling, and strategically designed snapshot of your professional journey and potential. It’s a document of one page or two at most that highlights your:

• Skills: Both the technical abilities specific to your field (e.g., AutoCAD, oil painting, classical ballet, music composition software) and the invaluable soft skills you’ve developed (e.g., collaboration, problem-solving, project management, adaptability).
• Experiences: Not just traditional jobs, but also your performances, exhibitions, design projects, commissions, leadership roles in student organizations, volunteer work, and relevant coursework.
• Achievements: What you accomplished in those experiences, quantified whenever possible (e.g., “Designed a sustainable community center that reduced energy consumption by 20%,” “Performed in 15 sold-out shows,” “Curated an exhibition featuring 10 emerging artists”).

What Is Its Purpose?

The primary purpose of your résumé is simple: to get you an interview! It’s not meant to tell your entire life story but rather is intended to pique the interest of a potential employer or client enough that they want to learn more about you.

Specifically, a résumé helps you:

1. Make a Strong First Impression: Recruiters often spend mere seconds scanning a résumé. Yours needs to grab attention and quickly convey your value.
2. Showcase Relevance: It allows you to tailor your qualifications to the specific opportunity you’re applying for, highlighting the skills and experiences that directly align with an employer’s needs.
3. Connect Your Art to the Professional World: For arts students, this is crucial. Your résumé demonstrates how your creative projects, performances, and design work have equipped you with highly sought-after professional skills like project management, critical thinking, teamwork, attention to detail, and problem-solving.
4. Stand Out from the Crowd: In competitive fields, a well-crafted résumé helps you distinguish yourself by emphasizing your unique talents, artistic vision, and professional readiness.
5. Serve as a Conversation Starter: During an interview, your résumé acts as a guide, allowing you and the interviewer to delve deeper into your experiences and qualifications.

Steps to Writing a Résumé

Crafting an effective résumé is a process of strategic writing and careful editing. Here’s how to build a résumé that truly represents your artistic and professional strengths:

1. Choose Your Format: Select a chronological, functional, or combination format. For arts students, a clean, readable design is key; save elaborate visuals for your portfolio.
2. Start with Contact Info: Include your name, phone, professional email address, LinkedIn profile, and links to your online portfolio or professional website/reel.
3. Craft a Summary or Objective: Highlight your top skills, experiences, and career goals, tailored to the specific role, in two or three sentences.
4. Detail Your Education: List your university, degree, major(s), expected graduation date, GPA (if strong), and relevant coursework.
5. Showcase Your Experience (Broadly Defined): Include traditional jobs but also significant artistic projects, performances, exhibitions, design work, commissions, and leadership roles. Use strong action verbs and quantify achievements.
6. Highlight Your Skills: List technical skills (software, instruments, techniques) and crucial transferable skills from your artistic training (e.g., problem-solving, collaboration, communication, project management).
7. Include Awards and Honors: Add any scholarships, dean’s list mentions, artistic awards, or notable publications/exhibitions.
8. Tailor and Proofread Rigorously: Customize your résumé for each application using keywords from the job description. Proofread meticulously to catch errors.

Your résumé is a living document that will evolve throughout your career. Embrace it as a powerful tool to articulate your unique value and open doors to exciting opportunities!

What Is a Cover Letter?

A cover letter is a one-page professional letter that accompanies your résumé when you apply for a job, internship, or project. Unlike your résumé, which is a summary, your cover letter is a narrative that allows you to:

• Express Your Enthusiasm: Show genuine interest in the specific role and organization.
• Elaborate on Key Experiences: Provide context and detail for two or three of your most relevant experiences from your résumé, explaining how they prepared you.
• Connect Your Skills to Their Needs: Directly address how your abilities (especially your transferable skills from the arts) align with the job requirements.
• Show Your Personality (Professionally): Convey your communication style, passion, and unique perspective that might not come across in a list on your résumé.

Your cover letter is particularly powerful. It allows you to articulate how your creative process, collaborative experiences, problem-solving abilities, and dedication to your craft directly translate into valuable professional assets for any industry.

What Is Its Purpose?

The main purpose of a cover letter is to persuade the reader that you are an ideal candidate who deserves an interview. It acts as a bridge between your qualifications and the specific needs of the role. It demonstrates that you’ve done your homework and are genuinely invested.

Specifically, a cover letter helps you:

1. Personalize Your Application: It moves beyond generic statements, showing you’ve researched the company and understand its mission and the role’s demands.
2. Highlight Your Most Relevant Strengths: You can strategically choose which experiences and skills to elaborate on, making a compelling case that you will fit into the organization.
3. Address Any Gaps or Transitions: If you’re changing career paths or have unique experiences (common in the arts), the cover letter is where you can explain how your background is still highly relevant.
4. Showcase Communication Skills: A well-written letter demonstrates your ability to articulate ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively—a critical skill in any profession.
5. Demonstrate Your Cultural Fit: You can subtly convey how your values and work style align with the organization’s culture.

Steps to Writing a Cover Letter

Crafting an effective cover letter requires thoughtful consideration and tailoring for each application. Here’s a concise guide:

1. Research Thoroughly: Understand the role, the company’s mission, and its values.
2. Use a Professional Format: Include your contact info, date, employer’s contact info (try for a specific name!), and a professional salutation.
3. Opening Paragraph: State the position, note where you found it, and briefly explain your strong interest and a key qualification.
4. Body Paragraphs (Two Maximum):
   1. Why You? Elaborate on a key experience or two from your résumé, connecting your artistic projects/performances/designs to relevant professional skills (e.g., project management, collaboration, problem-solving).
   2. Why This Place? Explain why you want to work for this specific organization, referencing its projects, values, or mission to show genuine interest.
5. Closing Paragraph: Reiterate enthusiasm, express eagerness for an interview, and thank the employer for taking the time to read your materials.
6. Professional Closing: Use “Sincerely,” or “Respectfully,” followed by your typed name.
7. Tailor and Proofread: Customize every letter for the specific job using keywords. Proofread meticulously to catch errors.

Your cover letter is your voice in the application process. Use it to passionately articulate your unique story and demonstrate how your artistic talents are precisely what the employer is looking for!

What Is a Curriculum Vitae?

The term “curriculum vitae” is Latin for “course of life.” Unlike a résumé, which is typically one to two pages and highly tailored to a specific job, a CV is a comprehensive and often multipage document that provides an in-depth overview of your academic and professional history. It is particularly common and often required for:

• Academic Positions: Faculty, research, or teaching roles at universities and colleges.
• Graduate School Applications: Especially for master’s or doctoral programs.
• Grants, Fellowships, and Residencies: Applications for funding or artistic opportunities.
• Research Positions: Roles in labs, think tanks, or research institutions.
• International Applications: Often the standard professional document outside of North America.

For arts students, your CV is where you carefully document your artistic output, scholarly pursuits, and pedagogical experiences, showcasing the depth and breadth of your engagement with your discipline.

What Is Its Purpose?

The primary purpose of a CV is to provide a comprehensive and detailed record of your academic, research, and artistic accomplishments. It serves as a complete professional biography, allowing the reader to understand the full scope of your expertise and contributions.

Specifically, a CV helps you:

1. Showcase Depth and Breadth: Unlike a résumé, which is deliberately brief, a CV allows you to list all relevant experiences, publications, presentations, and creative works to demonstrate the full extent of your involvement in your field.
2. Highlight Academic and Artistic Achievements: It’s the ideal place to detail your research projects, teaching experience, specific artistic roles, exhibitions, performances, commissions, and any scholarly contributions.
3. Demonstrate Expertise: By listing your full academic background and professional trajectory, you establish yourself as an expert or emerging expert in your discipline.
4. Support Grant and Fellowship Applications: Funders often require a CV to assess your qualifications and track record for research or artistic projects.
5. Provide a Foundational Document: Your CV can serve as a master document from which you can pull relevant information to tailor shorter résumés or bios for nonacademic opportunities.

Steps to Writing a CV

While a CV is extensive, its structure is typically organized and logical. Here’s a concise guide to building your comprehensive CV:

1. Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile, and links to your portfolio/academic profiles.
2. Education: All degrees (reverse chronological), institutions, dates, thesis/dissertation, and honors.
3. Research Experience: Projects, your role, institution, and contributions.
4. Teaching Experience: Courses taught, workshops led, and responsibilities.
5. Publications and Presentations: Scholarly articles, book chapters, conference presentations, etc., using a consistent citation style.
6. Exhibitions/Performances/Commissions: All significant artistic output with titles, venues, locations, and dates.
7. Awards, Grants, and Fellowships: All academic and artistic distinctions received.
8. Professional Experience: Relevant nonacademic work, internships, or volunteer roles.
9. Skills: Technical skills (software, languages, techniques) and research methodologies.
10. Professional Service and Affiliations: Committee work, peer review, memberships.
11. References: Usually “References available upon request.”

Key CV Principles: It has no page limit and requires thoroughness, clear organization, and expert proofreading. It’s a testament to your dedication and accomplishments!

What Is a Portfolio?

A portfolio is a curated collection of your best and most relevant work, presented in a professional and compelling format. It serves as tangible evidence of your abilities, artistic style, and problem-solving skills. Depending on your discipline, a portfolio can take various forms:

• Visual Arts (Architecture, Art and Design, Planning): Typically an online website, a pdf, or a physical binder showcasing drawings, designs, renderings, photographs of completed works, models, and project documentation.
• Performing Arts (Dance, Music, Theatre): Often a digital reel (video or audio) featuring performance excerpts, choreography, recordings, instrumental pieces, or monologues. It can also include production photos, headshots, and performance résumés.

Regardless of the format, the goal is to present a cohesive and impactful narrative of your creative journey and professional potential.

What Is Its Purpose?

The primary purpose of your portfolio is to visually and experientially demonstrate your skills and accomplishments, providing concrete proof of the claims made on your résumé or CV. It’s often the deciding factor in securing an interview or a professional opportunity in creative fields.

Specifically, a portfolio helps you:

1. Showcase Your Talent: It’s where your artistic and technical abilities truly shine and allows employers to see your style, high level of craft, and creative problem-solving in action.
2. Verify Your Skills: If your résumé lists “Proficient in Revit” or “Experienced in contemporary dance,” your portfolio provides the visual or auditory evidence.
3. Illustrate Your Process: Especially in design and architecture, a portfolio can show your thought process, from initial sketches and iterations to final designs, and demonstrate critical thinking and iterative development.
4. Highlight Your Unique Voice: Your portfolio is an extension of your artistic identity and allows you to convey your aesthetic, conceptual approach and what makes your work distinct.
5. Secure Opportunities: For many roles in the arts, a strong portfolio is not just recommended, but required for consideration. It’s your most powerful tool for getting noticed and landing that next step.

Steps to Creating a Portfolio

Creating an impactful portfolio requires careful selection, thoughtful organization, and professional presentation. Here’s a concise guide:

1. Define Purpose and Audience: Know who it’s for and what they seek.
2. Select Your Best Work: Choose only your strongest, most relevant pieces (quality over quantity).
3. Curate and Organize: Group similar projects or present a logical flow. For reels, start strong and keep clips concise.
4. Provide Context: For each piece, include title, your role, a brief description of goals/solutions, and skills used.
5. Choose Your Platform: Online portfolio (website), pdf, or video/audio hosting (Vimeo, YouTube, SoundCloud).
6. Design for Impact: Use a clean layout and high-quality media (photos, video, audio) and ensure it’s a mobile-friendly design.
7. Tailor and Review: Customize for each application. Get feedback from peers, mentors, or career advisors.

Your portfolio is a dynamic, evolving representation of your creative journey. Invest time in making it professional, compelling, and a true reflection of your artistic potential!

What Is an Artist Bio & an Artist Statement?

An artist bio is a concise, factual, and professional summary of your artistic background and professional identity. It’s written in the third person and focuses on who you are as an artist, your key achievements, and your overall artistic focus. Think of it as a professional “about me” section.

Content typically includes:

• Your Name and Medium/Discipline: Who you are and what you do (e.g., “Jane Doe is a contemporary dancer,” “John Smith is an architect and digital artist”).
• Educational Background: Degrees, institutions, and relevant training.
• Key Artistic Focus/Style: A brief description of the themes, concepts, or styles that characterize your work.
• Notable Achievements: Exhibitions, performances, awards, residencies, commissions, or significant projects.
• Professional Affiliations: Any relevant organizations or groups you belong to.
• Where You Live/Work: Often included for context.

An artist statement is a concise written explanation of your artwork or artistic practice. It’s typically written in the first person and delves into the “why” and “how” behind your creative work. It’s not a description of what your art looks like, but rather what it means, what inspires it, and how it was created.

Content typically includes:

• Inspiration and Intent: What drives your work? What questions are you exploring? What message or feeling do you aim to convey?
• Themes and Concepts: The underlying ideas, theories, or narratives that your art addresses.
• Process and Materials: How do you make your work? What techniques or materials do you use, and why are they important to the meaning (e.g., “I use reclaimed wood to explore themes of decay and renewal”)?
• Context: How does your work relate to broader artistic, social, or personal contexts?

What Are Their Purposes?

The primary purpose of an artist bio is to introduce you as a professional artist or creative practitioner. It aims to:

1. Provide Quick Context: Give the reader a brief, digestible overview of your background and credentials.
2. Establish Credibility: Showcase your education, training, and achievements to build trust and authority.
3. Define Your Professional Identity: Help others understand your specialization and where you fit within the artistic landscape.
4. Serve as a Reference: Offer an artistic overview for exhibition catalogs, press releases, website “about” pages, or grant applications.

The primary purpose of an artist statement is to provide context and insight into your creative practice. It aims to:

1. Deepen Understanding: Help audiences, curators, or jurors understand the conceptual framework and intentions behind your work.
2. Articulate Your Vision: Force you to critically reflect on your creative process and articulate your artistic philosophy.
3. Enhance Engagement: Encourage a more profound connection with your art by offering a window into your thoughts.
4. Support Applications: Demonstrate the critical thinking that is key to successful grant applications, gallery submissions, residency programs, and graduate school portfolios.

Steps to Writing an Artist Bio and Statement

1. Write in First Person: Use “I” statements (e.g., “My work explores” or “I am interested in”).
2. Focus on “Why” and “How”: Don’t describe what the art looks like; explain its meaning, inspiration, and creation process.
3. Identify Key Themes: Describe the central ideas, questions, or emotions your work addresses.
4. Discuss Process/Materials (If Relevant): Explain why you choose specific materials or techniques if they contribute to the meaning.
5. Be Concise: Aim for 150–250 words (no more than two paragraphs). Get straight to the point.
6. Avoid Jargon: Use clear, accessible language. Imagine explaining your work to an intelligent, nonartist friend.
7. Read Aloud and Get Feedback: Ensure it flows well and clearly communicates your ideas.

Artist Bios vs. Artist Statements: The Key Distinction

Bio: Who you are (factual, third person).

Statement: What your art is about (conceptual, first person).

Both are indispensable tools for arts students. Mastering them allows you to not only create compelling work but also to effectively communicate its value and your professional identity to the world.

Think beyond job postings: approximately 80 percent of positions are never advertised. People usually get hired by networking. FAA Career Services can help you make connections with professionals in your field. When you do search for job ads, start with specialized online services that cater to people with your major or those in the arts: you’ll see more appropriate listings and spend less time looking for options that suit your abilities and background.

Local Resources

• Handshake @ Illinois
• Research Park Job Board
• University of Illinois Faculty and Staff Positions
• University of Illinois Virtual Job Board

Best General Resources

• ARTSEARCH
• Greenjobsearch.org
• Idealist
• Indeed
• LinkedIn
• WayUp

Higher Education Resources

• Academic Keys Fine Arts Jobs
• Chronicle of Higher Education
• HigherEdJobs
• HigherEd360.com
• Inside Higher Ed

International Student Resources

• The Career Center—International Student Resources
• Myvisajobs.com
• Office of Foreign Labor Certification Hiring Data
• University of Illinois International Student and Scholar Services

You’re Qualified!

No matter where you want to head after graduation, your degree can help you get hired. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2025 survey, many skills, talents, and qualities critical to success in the arts remain in high demand. In addition to a strong GPA and position-specific skills, more than half of all employers are interested in applicants with the following attributes:

• Problem-solving skills
• Ability to work on a team
• Communication skills
• Initiative
• Strong work ethic
• Technical skills
• Flexibility/adaptability
• Analytical/quantitative skills
• Attention to detail
• Interpersonal skills
• Computer skills
• Leadership

Prepare

Do your research. Examine organizations’ websites and profiles on LinkedIn to find out about the employers and notable people attending.

Be Professional

Wear clothing appropriate to your industry, and make sure you have pockets or another safe spot to store business cards. Bring multiple copies of your résumé—at least two for each employer you plan to meet plus extras for other people you’ll make contact with—your portfolio, samples of your work that you’re prepared to give out, and a stack of your own business cards if you have them.

Introductions

Be brief and focused when you introduce yourself to a potential employer. Stick with the basics:

• What position you’re interested in
• Relevant coursework and internship/job experience
• What sets you apart from other students in your major
• Why you want to work for that organization

If you’re at a fair solely for people with your major, focus on your strengths and areas of interest. Have you targeted your studies on product design or mobile app design? What specific successful projects can you describe? Find a way to tie your experience and interests to the employer.

Example: Hello, I’m Janet Russell, and I’m a junior in industrial design. I would like to pursue mobile app development. This fall as an intern at Dow Chemical Innovation at the University of Illinois Research Park, I collaborated on a mobile cooking app that incorporates shopping, list-making, nutrition, and recipe applications into one user-friendly interface. I really admired how intuitive and simple your fitness app was for a wide variety of audiences, and I am interested in your position as junior developer so that I can join a team creating projects that bring together people, technology, and health.

Chat

Give each person a copy of your résumé and other work-related materials. Be polite and friendly, and be confident and engaging when you speak. Think of each encounter as a conversation rather than an interview. Your pitch should be ready, but ask questions: What do they like about working there? What happens during a typical day? What project is most promising? What are they passionate about? Listen to the answers and ask follow-up questions or share your related experiences. Also be prepared to respond to standard interview questions. Find a way to be memorable: wear a striking item of clothing or tell a work anecdote with unusual details. If you know students at the event or see your instructors, introduce them to others when you can. You never know what connections may result.

Portfolio Presentations

At a career fair, you may have just two minutes to present your portfolio. Be prepared to convey each project’s prompt and explain why your solution was useful and creative. Even if you present your design solution first, remember to tell a story—with a beginning, a middle, and an end—so that listeners can follow along. You may also have a chance to mention research points of interest you discovered during the process phases.

Since time is limited, an employer may ask you to focus on a favorite project or two. Be ready with your choices and explain why you selected them. Mention what role you played on the team and discuss what your team members did. Make sure that all large images in your portfolio are your work so that you can ensure that your contributions are clear.

Top 10 Portfolio Presentation Mistakes

Jessica Henson, RLA, ASLA, visiting designer-in-residence at the Department of Landscape Architecture, offered her prime insights on portfolio sessions. Avoid these pitfalls and make every presentation an opportunity to let your work and interest in the field shine.

10. You assume people have a lot of time to listen.
You may have only two minutes to explain the project’s parameters and your smart solutions. Be concise.

9. You’re too general or too specific.
Use concrete descriptions but do not overload your explanations with details.

8. You fail to explain the work.
Start with one sentence that summarizes the problem and follow it with one that emphasizes the novel solution.

7. You forget to connect with the audience.
Have a conversation, not a monologue. Ask about successful projects, duration at the company, or favorite aspects of working there.

6. You repeat words or talk too slow or too fast.
Prepare your pitch and be sure to take a moment to gather your thoughts before you begin.

5. You don’t rehearse.
Practice telling different people about your project in a range of settings.

4. You take credit for the entire team’s work.
Make clear that each project was collaborative and define your role.

3. You fumble with the portfolio.
Memorize your portfolio’s content and make sure the interviewer can see it at all times.

2. You’re unprepared for basic questions.
Do your homework on every firm before interviewing. Refer to your influences, role models, and favorite projects and show that you love what you do.

1. You cut off questions.
Engage with your audience so that they want to know more. End your talk with an open invitation for questions.

Wrap Up & Follow Up

Thank each person for their time and ask about the best way to follow up. Take business cards and any giveaways offered. Then reconnect by sending an email message or a handwritten note or making contact via LinkedIn.

Be Professional

Research the organization before you head to your interview. Make sure you can speak knowledgeably about key products or projects, past successes, its mission, and its leaders. Explore the website, look at industry publications, read news items, ask people you know, and collect as much information as possible.

Arrive promptly and wear clothing appropriate to your field. Bring the following with you:

• Multiple copies of your résumé in case you need to hand them out to committee members
• Your cover letter and the job ad so that you can discreetly refer to them while you talk
• Your research notes
• Questions about the organization and position
• Possible responses you can supply for common topics that may arise during the interview
• Your portfolio to display and discuss—you may also want to have smaller printed versions to hand out
• A laptop loaded with your presentation plus a backup plan in case your technology doesn’t work with the projection equipment on hand
• Samples of your work—like a card you designed or a product prototype—that you’re prepared to leave behind
• Personal business cards if you have them

It’s helpful to have tissues and mints available to use before you meet the interviewers.

Topics

Could you answer these questions?

• How many airplanes are in the sky right now?
• If you were a tree, what kind would you be?

Those may seem unfair, but they’re from actual interviews. If you’re stumped, check out this LinkedIn Learning video (log in with your NetID) for help.

Fortunately, most employers won’t try to trip you up with tricky questions that you can’t answer correctly. Brain teasers and oddball inquiries like these are meant to uncover how you reason, how you respond under pressure, and how you would tackle a difficult problem. Employers are really seeking candidates who not only meet a position’s requirements but also fit the work culture. They want someone enthusiastic about their field and seem like they will succeed in the position.

No matter the question, stay calm and think before you respond. One way to keep your cool is to be prepared for classic interview subjects. Use specific examples to help paint a picture of your experience with the following typical topics:

• Addressing criticism
• Decision-making
• Handling conflict
• Leadership
• Problem solving
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Working under pressure

Common Questions & Responses

Tell us about yourself.

This comment really means that you should provide an overview of your professional background.

Good answer: “I’m a junior in architecture at Illinois. This summer I interned at RATIO, where I worked on AutoCAD drawings for an aquatic center. I’m eager to do some fieldwork and learn about your innovations in sustainability.”

What is your greatest strength/weakness?

Strength: Read the job description. Answer truthfully, but select one of your strengths that aligns with the position’s needs. Back up your claims with an example. If you’re feeling humble, ask classmates, friends, or instructors for input. This is your chance to claim your stellar interpersonal skills, strong work ethic, ArcGIS expertise, or impressive leadership experience.

Weakness: Employers want to hear about real flaws, and they will often ask for more than one. Do mention challenges you’ve faced, but combine them with how you’ve addressed your shortcomings.

Good answer: When I first got to college, time management was difficult for me. I learned to break up projects into subdeadlines using Outlook. Now I depend on this calendaring tool.

What are your long-term goals/where do you see yourself in five years?

It’s fine to have multiple answers or an inexact notion of where you’ll be. Employers want to know how ambitious you are but also if you have a realistic idea about the pace of your career.

How do you measure success?

Use your research from the company’s website as the basis for listing key values you share: sustainability, efficiency, originality, high quality. Success may also include having meaningful interactions with co-workers or meeting professional goals such as selling your artwork in your own Etsy store or earning a certificate in database management. Avoid mentioning private personal goals or financial goals like buying a house.

What do you like/dislike about your previous position or coursework?

Likes: Talk about people you worked with, the organization’s culture, the type of teamwork style you used, the leadership structure, the skills you learned, or individual projects.

Dislikes: Be honest, but focus on positive elements: you determined that the position didn’t allow for enough growth, you’re ready for new challenges that are unavailable in a small company, you want to move into a different area of your field, you’re better suited to writing taglines than budgets. Even if you didn’t get along with your internship advisor or a faculty member, don’t discuss problems in those relationships. Steer the conversation toward your ability to thrive under different management styles or how that relationship stretched you to try a new approach to coursework. Be careful to avoid topics you prefer not to discuss.

Why should we hire you for this position?

Using the job ad to guide your answer, explain precisely why you’re a great fit for the job. Your answer is often your last chance to make your case. Note what sets you apart from other candidates. Would you hire you? Make sure you would—and try to convince the interviewer that you’re the right choice.

Sample General Questions

You’re not an expert in your field yet, but come across as knowledgeable, engaged, and eager to learn. Convey who you are, and let the interviewer know that you’re interested in the arts, other cultures, current events, different hobbies, or the broader society. Think about how you might respond to questions like these with detailed descriptions and reasons.

• Why did you choose this field?
• Who is your favorite [designer, architect, performer, educator] and what makes that person stand out?
• What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
• What roles [leader, organizer, motivator, administrator, visionary, laborer] do you play on a team?
• What strategies do you have for working well under pressure?
• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?
• How would your references describe you?
• What was the last book you read/movie you saw/concert you heard and what was your impression of it?
• How do you spend your spare time?

Questions for Employers

• What would you like the person in this position to accomplish in the first six months? The first year?
• How would you describe the ideal candidate for this job?
• What qualities do you look for most in your employees?
• What are your favorite things about working here?
• What are some of the challenges about working here?
• What growth opportunities exist for the person in this job?
• With whom will the person in this position be working?
• What happens on a typical day at the office?
• What is the next step in the interview process?
• When can I expect to receive information on the hiring decision?

Following Up

Write a note (on paper or by email if necessary) within 24 hours of your interview to thank everyone for their time and inquire (if you didn’t already) about the hiring timeline. Following up through email every two weeks or so is reasonable if you don’t receive a specific time frame for the rest of the process. Connecting on LinkedIn is appropriate, but connecting on Facebook is not.

Whether you’re defining an entrepreneurial idea or writing a grant proposal, you’ll need to consider how to make your pitch appeal to your audience. What’s exceptional about you? What specifically do you create and why? Who is it for? What is distinctive about it?

First, get your basic idea in writing. Then condense your concept until it’s a quick sentence or two or a handful of phrases suitable for a profile or conversation opener. This is how artist Emmy Lingscheit describes her work:

Her prints, drawings, zines, and sculptural works examine the teeming strangeness, cooperation, and competition of the biological world, and their parallels in human society.

Notice how much you can grasp about her identity, breadth, and artistic approach from her language choices.

Imagine how a similarly thoughtful sentence would generate questions at a career fair or steer a potential buyer to your work. This line could be distilled to fit on a business card, function as a tagline on a website, or be the perfect sound bite for an ad.

You will be a greater asset to your future employer even as a brand new employee than you might think. During your time at Illinois, you’ve gained experience in approaches, processes, methods, tools, and tasks. This collection of terms is just a starting point to help you take stock of all your abilities, make sure your résumé is up-to-date, and highlight your expertise in your targeted cover letters. And if you need a refresher or would like to learn something new, take advantage of free training from the LinkedIn Learning Online Training Library before you graduate.

Types of Skills

Academic

• Banner
• Blackboard
• Canvas
• Compass
• Moodle

Analysis, Modeling & Rendering

• ArcGIS
• AutoCAD
• Autodesk Inventor
• Cinema 4D
• Digital sketching
• KeyShot
• MakerBot
• Marker rendering
• Maxwell Render
• Maya
• Model making
• Revit
• Rhino
• Sketchbook
• SketchUp
• SolidWorks
• SPSS
• Stata
• TerrSet
• 3D printing
• 3D scanning
• 3ds Max
• Unity
• Vectorworks
• Wacom tablet

Design Methodology

• Empathic modeling
• Human-centered design
• Market research
• Rapid prototyping
• Responsive design
• Reverse engineering
• Sustainable design

Fine Arts

• Acrylics
• Bronze
• Ceramics
• Charcoal
• Clay
• Fibers
• Laser cutting
• Marble
• Metals
• Oils
• Paper
• Papier-mâché
• Pastels
• Pen and ink
• Pencil
• Printmaking
• Textiles
• Vinyl cutting
• Watercolors

Graphic Design, Layout & Publishing

• Canva
• Creative Cloud
• Ghost
• Illustrator
• InCopy
• InDesign
• Issuu
• Photoshop
• QuarkXPress

Media & Social Networking

• Beehiiv
• Bluesky
• Buttondown
• Constant Contact
• Drupal
• Etsy
• Facebook
• Hootsuite
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Mailchimp
• MailerLite
• Pinterest
• Squarespace
• WordPress

Movement & Stage Combat

• Acrobatics
• African-based dance
• Aikido
• Alexander technique
• Ballet
• Capoeira
• Contemporary dance
• Hip-hop
• Improvisation
• Jazz dance
• Juggling
• Modern dance
• Pilates
• Tae kwon do
• Tap
• Tumbling
• Yoga
• Broadsword
• Hand-to-hand combat
• Knife
• Quarterstaff
• Rapier and dagger
• Shaolin staff and knife
• Single sword
• Smallsword
• Sword and shield
• Theatrical firearms safety

Music & Sound

• Ableton Live
• Analog and digital mixers
• Audacity
• Audition
• GarageBand
• Finale
• Max/MSP
• Pro Tools
• QLab
• SFX
• Sibelius

Office/Administrative

• Access
• Acrobat
• Agile
• Basecamp
• Box
• Excel
• FileMaker Pro
• Google Docs
• Google Slides
• Keynote
• Microsoft Word
• Outlook
• PowerPoint
• SharePoint
• Slack
• Teams
• Tessitura

Photography

• Darkroom developing and processing
• Digital photography
• Film photography
• Large-format cameras
• Lighting
• Photo editing

Theatre Production

• Automation
• Costume construction
• Costume design
• Costume rendering
• Cutting
• Draping
• Electrical wiring
• Fitting
• Lighting design
• Makeup techniques
• Metalworking
• Patterning
• Period research
• Prosthetics design
• Rigging
• Scenic painting
• Set construction
• Stagecraft
• Stage management
• Theatrical drafting
• Upholstery
• Video projection
• Welding
• Wig design
• Woodworking

UI/UX Design

• Axure
• Balsamiq
• Figma
• Interactive prototypes
• Lucidchart
• Origami Studio
• Site maps
• Sketch
• Storyboards
• User testing
• Wireframes

Videography/Film

• After Effects
• DaVinci Resolve
• Final Cut Pro
• iMovie
• iStopMotion
• Premiere Pro
• Vimeo
• YouTube

Web/App Prototyping & Programming

• Ajax
• Apache
• Bootstrap
• CSS
• Dreamweaver
• Flinto
• Fluid UI
• Git
• Grunt
• HTML
• JavaScript
• jQuery
• JSON
• MySQL
• PHP
• Proto.io
• Python
• R
• Sass
• XML

Even though a job ad might not ask specifically for someone who knows how to book solo gigs at local coffeehouses, your exact work experience can nevertheless be applicable to a wide range of jobs, and it’s valuable to employers in search of someone with numerous general abilities. Don’t sell yourself short: analyze each ad to see how and where your skills fit and then tailor both your résumé and your cover letter to suit the ad.

Skills Listed in Ads

Teamwork, Positive Attitude, or Ability to Work with a Variety of Personalities

Your relevant work experience could read this way:

• Satisfied client requests under tight deadlines (customer service worker at a busy mobile phone retailer)
• Ensured prompt, professional service to a wide variety of customers in a fast-paced team environment (sandwich shop worker)
• Resolved customer complaints quickly and politely (retail sales cashier)
• Researched answers to client questions and requests (tech support)

Interpersonal Skills

Your extracurricular experience could read this way:

• Interacted with a diverse population at art shows, fairs, and exhibitions across Illinois (4H leader)
• Collected signatures to increase the mailing list to 5,000 members (political activist)

Problem Solving, Analytical Skills, or Creative Skills

Your experience with class projects could read this way:

• Developed a synthetic ear simulator for surgical training in a graduate entrepreneurship seminar
• Collaborated with gallery interpretation manager to develop new ways for docents and other staff members to educate and interact with visitors to galleries
• Designed a plan to control flooding and redistribute stream water to farmland in an advanced urban planning course

Organizational Skills

Your relevant student leadership or ensemble experience could read this way:

• Organized the annual Chicago tour, which included visits to six different architecture firms (student architecture group leader)
• Scheduled all rehearsals and events (summer theatre company assistant)
• Served as the director for a six-person jazz ensemble (band leader)
• Organized travel and logistics, assessed equipment needs, and handled transportation of large equipment (events manager)
• Booked performances for an ensemble (road manager)

Communication or Marketing Skills

Your relevant student leadership or work experience could read this way:

• Managed communications between the organization, members, and faculty by sending weekly email messages and updating the all-school calendar (student organization secretary)
• Promoted exhibitions and events (public relations manager)
• Created and maintained a WordPress website and Etsy and Instagram accounts (personal craft sales)
• Managed mailing lists with MailChimp (theatre company assistant)
• Developed flyers and posters with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop (student dance group organizer)

Sales Analysis or Market Analysis

Your relevant coursework could read this way:

• Conducted competitive benchmarking for a new hybrid Honda model in an industrial design course
• Researched target audience, prices, and future iterations of organic cotton socks in an advertising course

Financial Skills, Business Experience, Fundraising Experience, or Entrepreneurial Experience

Your work experience could read this way:

• Set and negotiated prices, tracked expenses and supplies, and managed local and self-employment taxes (private art sales)
• Arranged payment for venue spaces, local union workers, and accommodations (band touring manager)
• Wrote and secured grant proposals to install bike racks and e-bike charging stations (development assistant)
• Secured in-kind donations to restore a prairie corridor along a railway (landscape architecture intern)
• Kept books and records, managed accounts, and collected payments (private dance studio manager)
• Negotiated contracts and fees and set payroll (summer theatre company business intern)

Public Speaking Skills

Your conference experience and related coursework could read this way:

• Gave demos, lectures, and workshops (bodywork conference participant)
• Led the “Arts at the Market” workshop on silk-screening techniques to approximately 30 participants of all ages as part of the City of Urbana Public Arts Program (teaching)
• Presented a plan for restructuring the electrical system of a major metropolitan area to conserve energy (capstone project in solar energy)

Strategize

What do you want to accomplish? Are you ready to build a broader fan base? Do you have a CD or art to sell? Will you give lessons? Are you providing information specifically for employers? Marketing yourself comes down to identifying your ultimate goal—you may have more than one—and determining how best to achieve it. Keep in mind that selling your paintings and attracting students for painting lessons have similarities—of course your ability and vision are key to both—but need distinct approaches. A buyer of your work may not care that you can teach gouache techniques, but a potential student will want that information. As you lay out your marketing strategy, you’ll need to address these basic questions:

• Who is your desired audience?
• Where does that audience gather online?
• What content do you need to attract that audience?
• How do you continue to engage that audience?
• How do you get that audience to help you meet your goal?

As you weigh the benefits of social media sites, entertainment platforms, general employment resources, and personal websites, be selective. You’ll need to offer regular updates if you are marketing services or work, so make sure you can maintain an active presence.

Websites

Before building a website, consider what information your identified users need:

• Email address to contact you
• Services or products offered
• Prices
• Time frames for custom work, workshops, or private lessons
• Résumé as a pdf for easy downloading
• Portfolio in a downloadable form or an online format
• Photos or galleries
• Videos
• Sound clips
• Artist statement
• Teaching philosophy
• Acknowledgment of grants or honors received for your work

Try these resources for well-designed and easy-to-use web templates:

• Squarespace
• Weebly
• Wix
• WordPress

Online Storefronts

If you don’t plan to sell your work through your own site, try one of these marketplaces. Read information on fees, commissions, copyright, shipping, taxes, and other terms of buying and selling carefully before entering into any agreement. Also see the business and financial resources and information on legal topics for entrepreneurs.

• Artsy
• Bandcamp
• CD Baby
• Etsy
• Fine Art America
• Redbubble
• SoundCloud
• TuneCore

Follow Through

Consult Google’s starter guide to search engine optimization to help people find you and your work. Then track your marketing efforts. Tools like Google Analytics and Squarespace Analytics and resources from Bitly gather and categorize data so that you can hone your approach.

Complete your plan by posting your résumé details on LinkedIn and joining your department’s Facebook and LinkedIn groups—and make connections with FAA alumni groups after you graduate. Anyone can benefit from these simple marketing opportunities.

Did you know that only about half of 2025 college graduates even tried to negotiate their salary offers? You might not be successful at getting a higher amount, but you won’t know unless you try. Make sure you get paid what you’re worth.

Research

Since you may not have a competing job offer to use as leverage during your hiring discussion, negotiate from a strong position by investigating what employers in the region are paying employees with similar levels of experience to yours who are doing similar work. Check these resources for market rates:

• American Association of University Professors’ faculty compensation survey
• American Institute of Architect’s compensation survey salary calculator
• Coroflot’s Design Salary Guide
• Glassdoor
• Payscale
• Salary.com
• Salary search from Indeed.com
• Wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Weighing an Offer

Don’t focus solely on salary when you’re considering a job offer. You’ll most likely receive other benefits, and you’ll have many costs to consider too.

• What health care benefits are available: medical, dental, vision, other?
• How much vacation time will you get? Is sick leave offered?
• What’s the value of the retirement package?
• What will it cost to commute to your workplace and how long will that journey take in both directions?
• What options are there: walking, mass transportation, car pooling?
• How much is parking?
• Is assistance for the cost of mass transportation available?
• Are there options for working remotely?
• Does the position include professional development funds and/or tuition waivers?
• How much travel is involved and who pays for that?
• Is comp time offered for business travel and work?
• If you’d be moving to a new area, will it cost more or less to live there than where you are? Use the cost of living comparison calculator to get an idea of the difference.
• How will you need to budget your money? Sketch out a basic financial plan to check where your funds will go, but remember to deduct taxes from your salary.
• Do you need relocation assistance (moving expenses and hotel accommodations while you find a place to live)? If so, what’s offered?
• Are you expected to work regular hours? What are they?
• How long will it be before you receive a performance evaluation? Are they held regularly?
• Do you need to invest in a new wardrobe for the job?
• Is the starting date negotiable? If not, can you be ready in time?

When you consider the offer, remember that your potential employer may be able to negotiate on some items, but others may offer no flexibility, such as the company health plan and the retirement package. Think carefully about your deal breakers.

Make a Deal

Begin your conversation by noting how thrilled you are about the position, and repeat that sentiment throughout the discussion. Tackle items that likely have established policies—health care, professional development, evaluation schedules, and retirement plans—first. Move on to items that you’re flexible about.

When discussing trickier elements of the offer like the salary, a range of strategies can be effective. Try asking questions instead of making demands: “I was hoping that my two years of work experience would be factored into the offer. Can you increase the salary at all?” A different approach is naming your salary early in the process. Depending on the organization, that kind of assertiveness can literally pay off. You might instead mention the appropriate salary range you’ve discovered through research on your new role and make a case for why you’d fit at the higher end. Or adopt a collaborative style: concede on some items but push on others. Overall, job candidates who negotiate tend to be more satisfied with the process and receive better new employee packages.

But remember that salary isn’t everything. If you can’t be paid the salary you want, will other benefits make up for it? Perhaps opportunities for advancement and tuition waivers more than compensate for a lower amount. Will you be expected to give up nights and weekends for work and travel? If so, will you get comp time in return? If not, the salary may shrink when you factor nights and weekends of work into your hourly wage. Does this position sound like a perfect fit? Are you enthusiastic about the projects you’ll handle or thrilled to move to a new location? Determine whether job satisfaction and meaningful work will reward you in more important ways.

Other Tips

Ensure you have a written offer. If you’re given terms in a phone call, ask to have them sent to you officially by letter or email before you respond.

Remember that the negotiation is not personal. If the employer does not change the offer, it may have nothing to do with how much you’re wanted for the position. Budget constraints, hiring policies, and other administrative restrictions—or even that you were offered the best deal possible—may mean that there’s no room for negotiation.

Professional circles are small and careers are long. Consider all your options carefully, and don’t respond in a way that will alienate an employer. The people you met with last week could be the same ones you’ll be speaking with 20 years from now. Your goal should be to build positive relationships that last a lifetime.

Grant & Scholarship Resources

These arts-specific programs are just a starting point to track down funding for your creative career.

• Bridge—database primarily for arts administration and music
• FAA graduate student scholarships
• FAA undergraduate student scholarships
• Illinois Arts Council Agency grants
• Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship
• Mid-America Arts Alliance
• MSU Libraries’ Grants for Individuals resources
• Performing arts funding resources collected by the Music and Performing Arts Library
• University of Illinois Assistantship Clearinghouse
• University of Illinois fellowships
• University of Illinois National and International Scholarships Program
• Urbana Arts Grants Program

Writing Grants

Think of a grant application as a request to sponsor you. Your ideas and the granting organization’s should match well: you will be acting as an ambassador for your funder, and you want to advertise for a group whose values and goals align with yours. Being successful often comes down to research:

• Look locally and regionally. Most organizations offer grants for subjects they care about and give them to people who live in the area. Receiving a modest award from a nearby funder will later help show a national granting agency that you’d be a good candidate for additional support.
• Find out if the funding will come from tax dollars. If it does, carefully consider how you frame potentially controversial subject matter in your work. Some granting agencies will not support projects that could be viewed as problematic.
• Once you’ve identified a grant you qualify for, ask the organization for copies of previous winning proposals. It’ll be easier to write your proposal if you’re starting from a successful model.
• Verify by phone that the grant is still available and you have all of the deadlines, instructions, and forms.
• Go over the request for proposals (referred to as the RFP) carefully and make a list of everything you need to supply to complete your application.

Submissions

1. Follow the directions carefully. If you miss a deadline or fail to send in a required component, your proposal will be disqualified.
2. Remember that you’re writing to people who may not be in your field. Avoid jargon and keep your material simple.
3. Write an easy-to-follow description of your project that includes these elements:
   • What you want to accomplish
   • Why you want to engage in this work
   • The form of the final result (performance, art piece, composition, public engagement activity)
   • The intended audience
   • How the project will benefit the audience
   • What’s different about it
   • The strategy for completing the work
4. Convince the reader of your ability to deliver on your proposal. Use examples of previous successes: other funded projects, public showings of your work, matching grants, and even in-kind donations as simple as refreshments or supplies count as showings of support.
5. Include a plan. Separate the project into tasks and explain what each team member will do on each one. Lengthy or complex proposals might benefit from having a calendar.
6. Lay out the budget. Break it down into major components like these: travel, equipment, supplies, space rental, fees, personnel, training, insurance, marketing.
7. Explain how you’ll advertise the project to your audience.
8. Clearly identify how you’ll evaluate your project’s success: What would success look like (hint: what does the funder care about)? Will you count the number of visitors? Will you collect and evaluate comment cards? Are you going to build a website or set up social media platforms? Are you expecting a certain amount of income or number of sales?
9. Don’t forget to include your bio, artist’s statement, or résumé as requested. If you’re working with a team, include this material for each member as needed too.
10. Check on whether you need to submit samples in a particular format. Send only what’s requested or provide a link to your website or portfolio if that’s the preferred option. Be sure to select examples that represent your best work and also fit with both your proposal and your potential funder’s objectives.

If you need more detailed help, head to Candid for training and resources.

Raise Your Own Funds

• Indiegogo
• Kickstarter

Residency Directories

• Artist Communities Alliance
• Res Artis
• TransArtists

Thriving as an artist may mean establishing your own nonprofit organization or being self-employed, negotiating deals, insuring your pieces, and handling complex financial matters. Entrepreneurs and those interested in selling their creative works will need to educate themselves—and seek expert guidance about their own situations—on a broad range of issues before setting prices and collecting income. Get started with these general resources but remember that strategic marketing is critical to your success. Make sure your marketing plan is in place, and get your online media up-to-date.

Business Development & Practices

• Cozad New Venture Challenge
• EntreCORPS—entrepreneurial assistance from University of Illinois students
• “Entrepreneurship Foundations” from LinkedIn Learning (log in with your NetID to view the video course for free)
• Foundation basics—tips on setting up a tax-exempt organization from the Council on Foundations
• Illinois Business Consulting
• Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts—guides on business practices

Taxes & Finances

• Employer identification number information for your business from the IRS
• Illinois tax rules for selling work at fairs
• Self-employment tax regulations from the IRS

Insurance

• Basic concepts from AIGA
• Coverage tips from CERF+

Protecting yourself and your work is increasingly vital as digital platforms proliferate and complex contractual issues make even the simplest arrangements difficult and potentially risky. Learn about the pitfalls of contracts and ways to preserve your rights before you enter into any agreement. If you’re ever in doubt about a legal matter, seek out an expert.

Contract Basics

Oral Contracts

Oral contracts are legal, but they can’t be enforced under certain circumstances:

• The sale of goods valued over $500
• A contract with terms that cannot be performed within one year
• A lease lasting longer than one year
• The transfer of copyright

The bottom line: it’s always best to put your agreement in writing.

Contract Elements

• Identifying who gets what
• Identifying who does what
• Payments, costs, and penalties (What happens after a specified number of revisions to the project?)
• Delivery terms and conditions
• Representations (You represent that you wrote the song you are delivering and recording.)
• Ownership of intellectual property
• Length (How long will it take to complete?)
• Termination (How do you get out of the contract if either party isn’t meeting obligations or isn’t happy?)

Key Questions

• Is the contract exclusive? (Does it prevent you from generating revenue from other sources?)
• How hard is it to break?
• What financial issues are involved?
• What rights are granted?
• Are renewal terms included?
• What are the options for dispute resolution (arbitration or court) and choice of jurisdiction (local or elsewhere)?
• Is there an indemnification clause?
• What are the boilerplate (standardized) provisions?

When to Consult with an Attorney

• When you’re asked to sign something you don’t understand
• If you think the contract may not be in your best interests
• If the scope of the project is significantly larger than you’re used to
• If a great deal of money is involved
• If exclusivity or a long-term commitment is involved
• If the other party is represented by an attorney

These contract basics were provided by Casey Summar, former executive director of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville.

Legal Assistance

• AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services
• Copyright Circulars
• Lawyers for the Creative Arts
• Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts