WHAT TO SHARE IN YOUR PROFILE
What to share with freelance employers.
When it comes to creating a profile, CV or personal bio , it can be hard to know where to start and what information to share. Our member profiles help to you break it down and inform future employers about the things they need to know.
From speaking to previous employers we know one of the main things they need to know about you is your skills, experience and abilities. They want to learn about your strengths in floristry, and be able to determine with confidence what jobs you can fulfil. This alongside your floral style and past experience are all key things for them to gain a clear picture of.
We’ve gone through our profile form you’re asked to complete section by section and given you some tips and advise on how to get the most out of your profile.
What are your hobbies, interests and likes?
Keep it short and sweet here, we see such different uses of this section from members, but ultimately this is the area where people can get a good feel for you, and a little insight into your current floristry position. This space gives employers a great indication as to whether you’ll be a good fit for their team. Employers love to know your likes, interests, the side of floristry you enjoy the most, how it came about, and how it’s currently evolving for you. Our number one tip is to not make this part too long, we don’t want them to skip past it, you could try 5 fun facts about yourself or a short paragraph similar to your instagram/website bio could be good. Aim for around 200 words here.
Qualifications
Please don’t stress over this section, all florists are welcome here! You may have formal qualifications, or maybe you’ve learned on the job over the years and been taught skills from various florists, which is all fab! Employers aren’t necessarily wanting a list of formal qualifications, they really want a feel for where your skills are up to and how you’ve got to this point.
It's great to share details about your particular floristry skills here, if you’re super experienced and great at wiring, pop it down. If hand tied bouquets are your thing, share that!
Also we think mentioning anyone you have previously worked for/freelanced for is really good to mention. This will give potential employers the confidence that there is someone who could vouch for you if needed.
How long have you been a florist for?
This is based on some amazing feedback we’ve had from our employers that it would be great to know how much freelance experience you have as well as your own floristry work to see if you are the right person for their positions.
How would you rate your experience?
Let us know the level you feel confident to be stated at, taking into account the hands on experience you’ve had in floristry and the years you’ve been actively doing floristry for.
When setting your experience level, we advise you to state if you fall into the category beginner, intermediate or advanced. Therefore, we have broken down these three stages below to help you gauge what bracket you would come under.
Beginner - anyone fairly new to floristry or at the beginning of their journey. Possibly someone with limited experience, maybe you have only covered one area of floristry, which doesn’t feel very diverse. Or perhaps you are returning to floristry after a long break and want to get to grips with things again.
Intermediate - classing yourself as intermediate should reflect someone who feels confident in their floristry and has good experience in various areas. Some areas may feel stronger than others, but you shouldn’t feel phased by different tasks that might be asked of you.
Advanced - we would fully encourage you to class yourself as advanced if you’ve been in the industry for a long time, freelancing for various people, and have good experience in all areas, including being a part of bigger teams. One of the main things you must remember when marking yourself as advanced is the expectation it sets for your employers.
What is your preferred type of floristry work?
What sort of work do you want to do more of? What types of work do you love? We want to make sure you’re visible to the people offering the perfect thing for you, so use this space to share what sets your floral soul on fire! Make it simple and just give us a list if you fancy e.g.
Weddings and Events - big installations welcome
Bouquets and smaller wedding work
Shop work
What is your favourite Flower?
Yes, we know this one is hard to to answer, but it gives florists a really good feel for your ideal style of floristry, some may love a David Austin rose, and some might prefer Strelitzia, it’s a nice little insight into the kind of things you’re drawn to.
Social media links
Links to socials is really important, it helps them gain confirmation about what you’re sharing and allows them to take a closer look at you and your work.
Make sure all the links you provide are working and if any have changed then update them asap. Your online presence, be it instagram or website, is the first place potential employers will look to see your style and how you normally work, so make sure these are working and easy to follow through.
Do you currently run your own business?
Tell us who you are and your business name if you have one - they really like to know who they’re working with, and you may find somehow you’re already connected. You should leave your website address here also.
Images
Yes we all hate having our photo taken, but when it comes to employing someone, we would highly recommend you have your main profile photo as one of yourself. As much as people buy from people, people also like to employ people. It’s a great way to show your personality as well, you don’t have to use traditional ‘headshots’ you could be snapped working at a wedding or photoshoot, a behind the scenes at your studio or a creative brand shoot. You could also just set up your phone or camera and take some snaps of yourself the next time you’re working with flowers - it doesn’t need to be fancy. We love seeing your faces on our website and we feel like it builds a cohesive bank of profiles when we can see all our wonderful members in one place.
In addition to images of you, images of your work can make a big impact. We have seen from previous members profiles how effective they can be when images used compliment each other. This might be done in colour or style. As much as you want to showcase your most impressive work it’s also good to careful select what images sit alongside each other.
If you don’t feel confident in the images you have then invest a little time into creating some new ones. We recently shared a great post about capturing your own imagery, take a look here.
If you’re feeling stuck with what to highlight about yourself, you could try some of these simple tasks that might help:
Write down a list of the things you’re most proud of in your floristry career, events, teams you’ve worked with, and something you’ve been involved in.
Write down 5 of your best strengths in floristry.
Ask someone close to you, family/friend, or even maybe a customer or follower you know (someone who appreciates your style and floristry) what they consider your stand-out floristry strengths.
