A Guide to Creating a Captivating Video CV – Part II

 

You are making a video CV? A very specific aim is to get those potential employers interested in your skills and abilities, so that they contact you for an interview. Your video CV needs to be captivating. It is about more than the camera, lighting and delivery. Whether you are making the video yourself, using an animation tool like mysimpleshow, or using a combination of the two, it is crucial to know what information to include in your video CV.

A Guide to Creating a Captivating Video CV – Part II

Before you start making a video CV you need to consider your own character, values, gifts, talents and uniqueness. Why would you be a suitable candidate for the position on offer? Most video CV’s are created for a particular position. So, think about how to make the video CV relevant to your audience: think about what potential employers would like to see and what might tick their boxes. Also consider the culture within the organization and how you can show the prospective employer that you will fit in with their organization.

Be Well Prepared

It is crucial to know what you’re going to say and not to improvise as you go along. You should definitely not be figuring out what to say while you’re on camera! It should all be pre-planned. So, first write a script for your video CV and have your message ready before you start recording.

When drafting the script, avoid using long paragraphs. The video CV is supposed to allow an employer to “skim your resume”. Therefore, you need to make use of clear, concise, and simple bullet points that are detailed enough to describe the job experiences relevant to the role that you apply for.

Introduce Yourself

The first objective is to tell the potential employer more about yourself. However, do not expand on your personal or family life – potential employers want to know about your qualifications, your experiences as well as why you’re a good fit for the role. They are most interested in your professional background. So, start off your video CV with a short informative profile. Introduce yourself and name the type of position you are looking for. Then emphasize your academic background while perhaps showing images of diplomas, certificates or other qualifications. 

Work Experience

Next, tell the potential employer more about your work experience. The aim is to give very brief examples of your past experiences as well as the current or last position you held. By all means tell a story, but not your entire life story – tell them your professional work story! Make it engaging, compelling, clear and complete. This is where mysimpleshow can be very useful. Each chapter of your work history can easily be explained on a mysimpleshow canvas. Keep in mind: there is no need to meticulously enumerate all accomplishments from the past and skills not relevant for the vacancy. Only go back in time to relevant positions that you’ve had!

Briefly tell your work history by doing the following for each relevant position held by you:

            — -Name the company you worked at and the title you held.

            — -Say when you were in that position and for how long you stayed in that position. 

             —-Mention your major responsibilities in that role.

            — -Most importantly, mention a major accomplishment that you achieved in that role.

This information needs to be brief and to the point. You’re essentially providing a snapshot for every position that you’ve held up to your current position. For your current or last role also describe how you excel or what makes you stand out.

Closing Statement

Make sure you close with a strong and straightforward statement. A good way to end off a video CV is to make sure that you show the prospective employer that you are aware of the qualities that they are looking for. Then, tell the employer why you are the right fit for what they need and say what makes you unique or amazing to work with.

Filming

Once you have your script sorted out, you can start filming! Remember, part of your video script can be spoken (by you) on camera, part of it can be made into animated explainer video footage featuring mysimpleshow scribbles, and part of it can show still images and photos, with your voice in the background (mysimpleshow allows you to record your own voice and also to upload photos!)

Editing

Make use of editing software to sequence clips and remove unimportant shots, long pauses, failed shots, and other less than perfect footage. Incorporate your animated clips. At the beginning of the video CV, add a title to indicate who you are and which position you are applying for. Arrows and emoji’s can also be edited in, but be careful not to overdo it.

If you want to make sure that you stand out from a pile of resumes, make a video CV that is clear, concise and simple. Also send your full CV (in text format) to the potential employer, but include a link to your video CV (as a clickable URL link) as their first port of call. If your video CV is truly captivating, you can expect a call to arrange an interview and further wow that potential employer!