As an executive are you looking for a great way to differentiate yourself and make a personal connection with your choice employer(s)? Short videos can help executives deliver a quick and compelling message while translating your brand more effectively than the traditional cover letter. 

If it’s been a while since you’ve searched for a new position, you are quickly realizing job search strategies have vastly changed with the evolution of technology. Technology plays a critical role in networking and connecting with potential hiring managers. Over the last decade, branded videos have also become part of the toolkit used by proactive job seekers. The good news is, developing your own video is now easy to do. You can create a video with varoius tools, the most popular and user friendly being, your smart phone, YouTube, and Vimeo. 

The value of a short video is to help you build emotional connections with the viewer and showcase soft skills that cannot be translated in a resume. For example, a short video can display your enthusiasm, interpersonal, and communication skills. It can also help employers quickly identify if your personality is a cultural fit within their organization.

Consider the video your “why you should hire me?” pitch. The video should be short and concise with the length ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds. Remember, you just need to provide enough information to inspire the viewer to call you or want to learn more about you. Your goal is to peak your viewer’s interest quickly, keep them engaged and motivate them to take action.

So what are the steps…..

1) Introduce yourself 

This includes your name, profession, years of experience and professional expertise. For example, “My name is Jake Smith, and my expertise is in leading technology organizations in the healthcare industry. I have a record of success launching highly profitable technology start-ups and have also turned around struggling technology organizations”

2) Provide a few facts about your career achievements

This is the breadth of your video and your opportunity to showcase your most notable career achievements in relation to the job you are pursuing. Utilize the Challenge/Action/Results methodology to describe how you were able to increase productivity and profitability in your leadership roles. Just as in the resume, provide specific dollar amounts and/or percentages on profit increases, money saved, etc.

3) Closing 

To close your video, request a call to action, such as "Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my resume/LinkedIn profile” or  “I will follow up with you in a week to schedule a time for us to talk about your organizational goals, and how I might be able to help.”

The content is key, however, don’t dismiss the importance of your production value. First, determine where you are going to shoot your video. If you are using your phone, be particularly careful of shaky footage, bad lighting, cluttered background, and sound quality. Find a location with appropriate lighting, a professional background such as a home office and make certain there is no background noise or distractions.

Also, just as you would in an in-person interview, remember body language is important. Maintain eye contact by looking directly into the camera throughout your video and do not refer to written notes. Be sure to have your content memorized with a natural flow.

It is also important to dress as if you are in an interview. As an executive, you know your industry and what’s most appropriate in professional attire. In other words, dress the part of the job you are pursuing.

Once you’ve created and reviewed/edited your video, you can post it to your YouTube channel and embed it into your LinkedIn profile. When you submit your resume using email or send a potential employer an email inquiry, you can also include a video link and a video tagline such as, John Smith, Top Producing Vice President of Operations. Lastly, you can add this link and tagline to the top of your resume along with your contact information.

To summarize, the short video is an excellent tool to grab the attention of a hiring manager. At this point, the traditional resume is not going away, you’ll still need your conventional resume. But in comparison to other applicants who don’t use a video, you will likely be memorable for incorporating this tool in your search.