About video introductions

What is it?

Probably you ask: "What the heck is video introduction? Why would I need a video presentation if I have a good resume? Is it like a video resume? "

The answer is NO, it is not video resume. What would be the purpose of making a video version of your resume? Resumes are here to stay, you will still need one however we believe resumes as the main hiring tool is outdated, it belongs to the last century.

In the 21st century employers need more than just a resume (and cover letter), they need a quick peek into job applicant's personality which resumes do not provide. Even before employers call an applicant for an interview they want to collect as much information about the potential employee as possible in order to save time, effort and ultimately money for their companies.

Video introduction is not replacement for a resume, on the contrary, it is resume's supplement, enhancement of the information provided in the resume.

Why are video introductions good and useful?

According to Forrester Research's Dr. James McQuivey, "a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words ."

Video recording provides wealth of information, especially if video recording is carefully thought out and technically well done.

From employers' point of view

Employers advertise vacant position - candidates send their resumes - employers (somehow) select a dozen or so resumes and call applicants for the interview - they interview applicants - employers do reference checks for half a dozen applicants (or less) - employers pick one person to hire.

That was the typical sequence of events in the game known as job search in North America for many decades.

It is widely believed that hiring managers do not read all received resumes very carefully (if at all), instead it is believed they spend around 8 seconds glancing at a resume, they skim for key information, before they decide whether they will spend more time reading the resume more carefully.

For employers short video presentation can be a goldmine of useful information about the job-seeker. Instead of skimming the resume for specific information they can spend a couple of minutes watching applicant's video introduction and gain much more information than by only reading about applicant's education and job duties they performed in their jobs in the past 10 or so years.

Certainly, employers will still need information from a well prepared resume however video presentation will put all resume facts into the context of someone as a person. Good video introductions can save employers a lot of time during the hiring process. They can ensure that initial selection of the candidates is aimed at really the best among the applicants.

From job-seekers' point of view

Making a 2-3 minute video introduction should not be a huge problem now that practically everyone has a cellphone which can record video.

Job seekers should have this attitude: this video introduction will motivate employer to call me for an interview and give me a chance to explain how I can benefit their company utilizing my education, work experience and most importantly by showing them what a great person I am!

There is no need for repeating what is already written in your resume or if you do that it should not be the main goal of your video introduction. For example if you say "I have 5 years of work experience as a long haul truck driver" that would basically take care of that section of your resume, the rest should be dedicated to you showing how you do things, showing who you are as a person, something that is not in your resume.

If you need help drafting the scenario for your 3 minute video presentation please contact us as we can help you with ideas how to make your video introduction as well as edit your footage and put together video presentation for you.

What about discrimination?

There is "good discrimination" and bad discrimination. Hiring process in itself is a "discrimination" process whereby qualified candidates are separated from those less qualified or not qualified at all. That would be good or at least legal kind of discrimination. Illegal and morally unacceptable discrimination is when employers refuse to hire (or even consider hiring) someone solely based on applicant's ethnic origin, race, gender etc. For the most part Canadian employers do not do that.

Canada is a multicultural society and diversity is the essence of the society. Fears that Canadian employers would not hire someone only because they are of certain ethnic origin, for example, would not be founded on facts, this is our strong belief.

On the other hand if you can barely speak English (or French) and good knowledge of the language is one of the key requirements for the vacant position, then chances are video presentation won't help you get invitation for an interview. You will be better off by just sending your resume which will hide lack of (spoken) language skills.

How do I make a video introduction?

There are several ways of doing it. We will list most common ones:

  1. Basic one. You can sit in front of your computer webcam, using your computer microphone and record your video introduction, all in one shot. Informational and artistic value of such recording could be quite limited however we do believe even this basic kind of video introduction can be beneficial to your job search.
  2. Simple one. You can use your smartphone or even older cellphone and record your video introduction. Such recording can be of very good quality (for example 720p HD quality) and you can combine several short recordings into one which would be around 3 minutes long. This would involve some basic video editing.
  3. Moderately advanced approach. You can ask one or two of your friends to help you record your video introduction. Especially if they know more about videography than you. You can use more than one camera to record your material, paying attention to the story, the message you want to convey and find the best way to capture it with video footage. This option involves video editing as well.
  4. Advanced option. Here you may decide to hire a (semi) professional who will create storyline and professionally record your video introduction. Later they will edit recorded material and produce polished end result. This can be fairly expensive option.
  5. You can contact us and we can edit video footage you recorded and also we can write a script for your video introduction, later you can record it and edit it yourself or send it to us for editing.

Some technical tips for video-making

  1. Try to record 720p HD video
  2. Make sure audio is good as possible, without background noise
  3. Use tripod whenever possible - shaky video looks very annoying and unprofessional
  4. Pay attention to lighting - low light or too much light will affect the quality of your final product, your video introduction
  5. Pay attention to what is happening in the background - every single thing in the scene is sending a message to the viewer, you want to make sure all messages are working for you
  6. Try not to move camera following the subject or moving towards the subject (panning)
  7. Try not to use zooming in and out on the subject
  8. When editing footage try not to use fancy transitions (fading in and out is all you need)

Feel free to contact us for further information and tips on video making and importance of your video introduction.