How to make a Video Resume to help your application stand out from the crowd .

So you are on the dating scene….(if you are not lets just close your eyes and imagine that you are!)

How do you want to come across to the person you are dating?

Yes, it is super important to be yourself but at the same time you want to show that you have certain qualities and traits which are desired. Some of most desired traits that come up on the popular dating websites include GSOH(Good sense of humour!), Caring, Ambitious, Reliable, (insert any other desired traits here…)

The same applies to you as a job seeker.

You have some key roles to fill. You want to provide the company with a level of certainty that you are the talent they are looking for.

Talent which can be trusted, talent which can be coached, talent which can be nurtured, talent which can provide value to the company.

Understand the game

So just a little hint- On the dating scene, you might not be the only prospect that your date is looking at. Well the same applies in the job market, the company whom you are applying for will have a raft of other applicants who all looking to catch their attention. (sorry if I am breaking this news to you).

So if we know this, lets work on making our application stand out from the crowd. Look to improve the quality of experience for the person in charge of the recruitment for said company.

Let’s for a second put ourselves in the shoes of the party on the other side of the recruitment process and attempt to understand how the recruiter will be feeling through the recruitment process.

They will post a job advertisement, they will have many people apply and submit they will all submit a resume which will detail bullet points on themselves, their work and education experience and then maybe a small section on what their goals maybe.

It is fair to say, that this is the normal recruitment process.

So how can we improve this?

Well hear me out on this one…..would you personally agree to a date with somebody if you just received a 1 pager containing bullet points on themselves, their work and education experience and then maybe a small section on what their goals may be?

Some of the more trusted people put there at this point would say ‘yes’…….others out there may look to have more trust before they commit to a date.

How to stand out

So why don’t we look to build more trust and add so shine to our job application by submitting a video resume.

You can cover the same points as would be included in the written resume but now we can explain the points. We can add enthusiasm, we can show our pride in our recent achievements, we can convey our ambitions and we can add a personal touch.

Now I am sure you agree that you are better at explaining who you are rather than some text on a piece of white paper!!!

Now this is pretty easy to do and don’t worry, it does not need to be an Oscar winning performance! Just follow these couple of steps on how to make your video resume-

· Set yourself up in a clear, well lit background.

· Set up your camera to be at eye level(yes you don’t need a lighting booth or the latest camera off a movie set, your camera on your phone will do the job)

· When you record simply cover some of the main parts from your resume- a few parts highlights of yourself and who you are, any relevant work and education experience and then maybe a small section on what your goals are?

· Don’t worry you can have your notes at hand to look at throughout the video.

· Re-watch the video and send to the company. (or if they have evolved their recruitment process already, they will have an ‘Upload your video’ section on their application process)

So that is how to make your video resume. What do you think to this addition to your application? Do you think that will help you stand out from the crowd?

I will make up a ‘how to video’ and post it up to help you guys. Best of luck with your application.