The Ultimate Guide to Easily Make a Simple and High-impact Video Resume
The transformation of a CV into a short, direct and creative audiovisual presentation can be a great tool to stand out among the dozens of candidates who apply for a job vacancy.
With the advancement of digitisation in Human Resources, the video CV will be increasingly used to get to know the candidates. Some companies already have their structures adapted to this tool that replaces the traditional CV. It is a practice here to stay and will surely be promoted more in the coming years because the trend is totally digital. This article will introduce what is a video resume and bonus tips to make a good video resume.
What is a video resume
As its name implies, a video resume is a short video in which the candidate summarises their professional career, lasting between 1 and 3 minutes. It aims to test your communication skills, creative capacity, and experience with new technologies to stand out from the rest of the candidates.
How to make a video resume from scratch? The starting point is to prepare your script, in this case, the career path. Half the work is done if the candidate already has a written CV. There are many professional resume makers available online. You can easily choose a resume template and customize it according to your need.
Preparation and formulation of the content
Suppose the job posting states that you are explicitly asked to create an application video as an applicant. In that case, you will often find information and other requirements for the video in the job posting itself or on the company's website.
Before you start shooting, you should plan everything carefully and create a script. During brainstorming, you can collect ideas and already determine the rough content. It is important that you do not repeat anything in the video that can easily be taken from your application documents. Let the recruiters take a look at your extraordinary side.
In addition to your name and possibly your telephone number or e-mail address, the content should roughly answer the following questions :
- Who are you? (Key data, special features of your person, successes)
- What can you do? (qualifications, skills)
- Why this company/job? (Motivation, professional goals)
If these questions are already answered in the cover letter, the content of the application video can be a supplement to the existing documents. You can also use it to explain things for which there is no space in the cover letter, such as gaps in your CV, a canceled degree, etc.
Formulate your sentences to the point, and do not repeat your cover letter or CV. You have to convey your enthusiasm verbally and with gestures and facial expressions here. Since a video impresses with visuality, you can also present what you want to say non-verbally by visualising a text. Pick up a more emotional aspect of the company that also interests you.
Five elements to structure a good video resume
Introduction (10-20 seconds). It begins by introducing you: Who you are, what you do and what kind of job you are looking for.
- Work experience (20-40 seconds). Talk about your most relevant jobs, most notable responsibilities and achievements and goals achieved.
- Academic training (20-40 seconds). Just talk about the last degree you got. If the position you are looking for requires a lot of technical knowledge, you can expand this information as long as they are relevant to the job.
- Added value (20-40 seconds). Add some personality and extra information to wrap up the video CV. Explain why they should hire you and not someone else what you can contribute to the company.
- Farewell (10-20 seconds). End with a call to action showing your email your contact networks, plus a cordial farewell.
Tips to make a video resume
Highlight the skills
Expert advises candidates to highlight their professional career and the skills and achievements they have obtained because a video resume can help recruiters evaluate elements such as results orientation and problem-solving. In addition, candidates should show their interests and why they want to work in the company.
"With that energy, being able to transmit in that video to those selectors, the ability, the interest, the attitude. All of that counts. Regardless of whether you can make a video, it is also important that you can do it in a very dynamic way, even communication, the tone of voice is important to mark when you make the video", highlights the specialist.
Know the video structure
Knowing the structure and what elements you should highlight when making your video resume is not the only aspect you should consider to prepare it. Before starting to record, you should list all the elements of a video resume.
Define your audience
Defining who and how your presentation will be addressed will give you clues about what you could include and, above all, how to express that information. For example, is it relevant that what you explain is understood by a 5-year-old child? Or only by specialists in your field?
Focusing your message on a specific group can make it easier for it to be better understood by those who are part of your target. However, keep in mind that a simpler message will reach a larger audience, but this audience will be reduced as what you transmit becomes more specific.
Speak clearly and confidently
The person who sees the video has to see that you know what you are talking about. So do it with confidence and conciseness. Be natural and honest. It doesn't just consist of memorising phrases and repeating them, and you have to express them naturally. Only by talking about what we know will we create that feeling of spontaneity.
Take care of the movement of the hands. Avoid crossing your arms but also sudden movements. Your look and gesture must convey cordiality. Dress according to the position you are looking for. As if you were going to the job interview itself.
Choose a suitable place
Take care of the place you are going to record and the objects you want to appear. All this must be in the background, without highlighting more than your person in the video. The sound of cars, wind, or white noise could ruin your video resume. Recording at sunrise or sunset will get more natural light.
Be original
Will it be entertaining? Will it provide valuable knowledge? Ultimately, the question is whether your video enriches the viewer in some way: be it with information, with an interesting idea or with a smile. Thus, "being original" is not limited to "doing something different".
Summary
Through a video, not only does it add a topic of experience and hard data about the candidate, but it also gives you a lot of openness to learning a little more about what the person is like, the attitude they show and their energy. Perhaps soft skills that we, maybe we even see them and we can say: ok, this person is going for this position.
The truth is that this format is perfectly valid for any profession, sector or professional profile. Of course, the forms in the video must be adapted to the seriousness or spontaneity that the job requires. Therefore, it is important that candidates first identify the type of company they want to apply for and based on that, create a video resume with a more attractive format or a more serious one.
