Strategies For Success In Today's Job Market

Career Advice • By Simon Davies • Published on 10/06/2025

CG 101 - What A Day!

First things first: MASSIVE THANKS to Brenda Ximena Roldan Romero , Ethan Francis and the whole CG 101 Team for an awesome event on Friday 6th June. It was fantastic to see so many amazing Artists and Industry Pro's come together to share knowledge, offer mentoring and enjoy some amazing speaker sessions.

As VFX, Animation and Games Studios and Artists continue to experience a tough time, the ability to come together to share knowledge and experiences is more important than ever. Events like CG 101 are vital and further demonstrate the real strength and spirit of the community.

At a time when frustrations around with the status of the Job Market continue, this felt like a great opportunity to bring together a panel of experienced Recruiters from the world of VFX and Animation to share Strategies For Success In Today's Job Market. Huge thanks to Union Visual Effects's Harriet Edge-Partington , Bridget Dash from DNEG and Ian Landman of Framestore for your insights, it was great to spend time with you all on the panel discussion.

Some fantastic insights were shared on the day, here's a summary of the key points:

Do The Basics Well

  • A job search can be a full time job in itself, give it the time and energy it needs.
  • Do your research...
  • In a competitive job market, targeted and focused job applications are essential. Ensuring that your CV and Showreel / Portfolio are all up to date and relevant to the role you are applying for is vital. (If you Reel is Password Protected ensure it can be easily viewed).
  • Quality of applications over quantity. Demonstrating knowledge of the studio you are applying to, their projects / awards and the work of some of their team will stand out far more than a template application and cover letter.

Interview Prep

  • Know your reel / portfolio and CV, be prepared to talk through you work.
  • Problem Solving - no project ever delivers with zero hitches. Recruiters and Hiring Managers want to hear about when things went wrong and how you and your team found solutions.
  • Use the Job Description / Ad to identify key discussion points around your experience and to identify questions you would like to ask about the role or studio.
  • Ahead of an interview, ask Recruiters to steer you on any key points the Hiring Managers may want to cover in the interview.

Demystifying The Recruiting Process

  • Understand the difference between a "shout out" on LinkedIn asking you to submit details to an email inbox versus applying via a link to a studio's Recruiting ATS (Applicant Tracking System).
  • Where possible, set-up new job alerts from studio career pages.
  • Applications via a careers page link are more likely to receive a response - including automated Confirmation of Application through to Thanks But No Thanks responses if you are unsuccessful.
  • ATS packages utilised by most VFX, Animation and Games Studios do not use AI based reviewing processes to screen applications.
  • Recruiters do want to help and will try to answer as many enquiries as possible. Many are often dealing with hundreds of applications at a time, your patience is always appreciated.
  • International Remote hiring may not always be an option for the projects a studio is hiring for. These requirements are driven by Studio Leadership not Recruiters.

Master Resilience

  • In the current industry climate it's not uncommon to see contracts terminated due to a lack of work in a studio. This is not your fault, the industry is changing and you are not alone..
  • Take time to research crossover opportunities outside of the usual VFX or Animation bubble. New opportunities are evolving in areas like Immersive / Design / Arch Viz and Amusement Park rides. Be open to exploring them.
  • Evolve your skillset and be open to Freelance opportunities where possible.
  • An unpopular topic, AI is here to stay with Machine Learning being more widely deployed in certain areas. Learn how to use the tools to your advantage.
  • Embrace the creative community around you. We are fortunate to have very active communities in VFX, Animation and Games. Join forums, meet-ups and events whenever you can. Share thoughts and opportunities and don't be afraid to ask for help.

These are just some of the points our panel covered at CG 101. If you were at the event on Friday it would be great to get your comments or additional questions on what was discussed.

Thanks again to everyone for being there and the whole CG 101 Team for a fantastic gathering. Here's to the next one!

Check out DAX | Digital Arts Xchange for the latest in Global VFX, Animation and Games opportunities.

If your Studio is hiring and would like to find out more about the Talent Acquisition Solutions DAX has to offer, please don't hesitate to get in touch: simon@wearedax.io