We’re all familiar with the traditional resume. It’s a document that summarizes your skills and qualifications in an organized manner, helping you stand out from the competition when applying for jobs. But how about video resumes?
Video is taking over our world, so it makes sense that it would also be used to present oneself on video! A video resume allows job seekers to show their personality and unique style while engagingly showcasing their skills.
Many companies invest in video technologies and provide their employees with tools such as Skype, so it’s not surprising that this type of resume is gaining popularity. Being familiar with these types of technology makes us more marketable overall.
Video resumes can serve as a fantastic addition to your regular resume, or they could be used alone. Most job seekers choose the latter and send their video resume along with an application. This way, it’s easy for hiring managers to watch at their convenience and share with colleagues so more people can learn about you!
Advantages of video resume
- Creativity and personality shine through with this document, which helps you stand out from the competition.
- The hiring manager can watch at their convenience and share with colleagues so more people can learn about you.
- This type of resume is very effective when applying to jobs online. The person reviewing it doesn’t have to print it out or send an email for both parties to check it.
- It saves time! Videos are much shorter than traditional resumes, making them easier for recruiters and hiring managers to consume quickly without sacrificing information. They also don’t require as much attention from the reader since they’re only a few minutes long compared to several pages of text documents that take longer to read through due to formatting issues like bullet points.
- As a job seeker, it’s easy to see how your skills and qualifications relate to those desired by employers as they’re presented in such an engaging way. It would be hard for a hiring manager to say no when they know you could be the perfect candidate!
- Showing who we really authentically help others form a better picture of our personality and work ethic than what can be gleaned from traditional resumes alone. Video resumes help people get to know us deeper, which produces positive results for both job seekers and employers alike!
- It may seem like common sense, but having good communication skills is one of the most important qualities employers look for in new hires. Video resumes are an excellent way to showcase our abilities in this area, allowing employers to see us communicate clearly about our skills and why they’re relevant for their company!
- When submitting your application with both a video resume and a traditional CV, you can help hiring managers connect even more closely with you through the employment documents that they receive. With two ways of presenting yourself, it’s easy to get hired!
Creating Your Video Resume
1. Have your script ready
Don’t ad-lib your video. You want to seem natural and off the cuff but should have a sense of what you want to be saying and how to say it engagingly while staying authentic. That will keep people watching without getting bored or checking out early on because nothing new was told after 10 minutes into their screen time.
With these videos, take the opportunity to make yourself stand out from other candidates by showing not just telling them why they should choose you over other applicants.
2. Choose A Good Background
If you are going to film yourself speaking directly into the camera, prepare a space with a neutral background and attractive lighting. You can include natural props that fit in nicely without distracting the audience, such as flowers or plants, for example.
Make sure you have a clutter-free background, if possible. Also, avoid shooting in a place where people pass by your back as these can look unprofessional and distract the viewer.
3. Use A Professional-looking Template
Make sure to use a professional-looking template. There are many out there, so just do some digging around the internet to find one that suits you best
4. Record and Re-record
You want your video resume to be as polished and professional as possible, so you can start by recording it in segments. Use different expressions for each part of the video. At the same time, you speak – this can help streamline editing later in post-production!
As always, it’s essential to “proofread” before submitting your video. Make any necessary changes and re-upload until everything is perfect!
5. Put Additional Elements When Needed
One of the best ways to make a video resume is by including elements such as informational slides, infographics, and photographs.
Before or early in your editing process, collect all materials you want for this type of add-on, like clippings from news articles with quotes relevant specifically to yourself. This way, it will provide additional information while engaging viewers!
Get creative with how you but don’t try anything too bold. You want to show your personality but make sure you don’t do anything over the top.
6. Edit Your Video
To start, review all of the footage you’ve captured and select which takes are best. You’ll want to use this as a reference point when putting together your video or slideshow presentation so that it fits in with what has already been created.
If there was any additional sound on top while recording yourself speaking, then be sure to include those underlinings too! To compile the video, use editing software or an application that allows you to cut and organize videos. Some computers come with this capability as well!
7. Consider adding captions
– Don’t forget about captions if things are being said that are not voiced over by you personally, as this will significantly help hiring managers to understand what they’re watching better than would otherwise be possible without them.
Captions can also save time since videos aren’t usually very long, so having text on screen helps viewers figure out whether they should invest their time watching more of your video or move on to a different candidate.
8. Ask for feedback
Review your final cut a few times to ensure the video is clear and organized. You can also ask someone, like a friend or colleague, for feedback on how it looks when reviewing with an outside perspective in mind- after all this hard work, we should not be willing to let our efforts go unnoticed!
Conclusion: Now that you know some of the key points to keep in mind while creating a video resume, it’s time to put your skills into action.
Remember though; make sure not to get carried away with effects or text colors as hiring managers will appreciate simple designs most.
If you’re stuck on what kind of design they like best, ask someone over the age of 50 for their opinion. Older generations tend to value traditional formats more than younger people who grew up in an era where technology is king!
Recent Posts
Many consumers have divided or negative feelings about marketing practices. Unsustainable marketing breeds distrust—whether it’s the false promise of greater value or convincing customers to buy...
The most significant investment to think about is web hosting to get more traffic and higher performance and run your website successfully after you build it. So it's essential to select the best...