Certify cards

What to do if you do not want to film yourself?

Execution

"I get stage fright and gremlins in my head saying: 'You're going to forget your lines'."

Alan Rickman

Don’t want to film yourself? Feel camera-shy? There could be a number of different reasons for not wanting to perform in front of the camera. Luckily, you don’t necessarily have to in order to create a video CV! Here’s a couple of examples:

Animated video
Filming someone else
Creating a video from stock footage
Filming your pet! 🐕🐈🐟

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Dealing with unwanted emotions

Self-management

“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.”

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

We all have bad days but not everyone deals with them in the same way. You can be sure that in any workplace, you will have to deal with other people’s unwanted emotions as well as your own. If you pride yourself on being able to manage your emotions and maintain a healthy and pleasant work environment, you can mention this in your video CV. How? Try answering these questions for starters:

How do you deal with unwanted emotions, do you let them get in the way or do you maybe have a strategy how to manage them?
How do you manage unwanted emotions?
How do you deal with angry/agitated colleagues? Do you let their emotions transfer onto you? Or maybe you have methods/strategies how to calm your colleagues and help them?

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Project development is a creative endeavour?

Creativity

“Every project is an opportunity to learn, to figure out problems and challenges, to invent and reinvent.”

David Rockwell

Creativity is not just about generating ideas. We could argue that project development as a whole is a creative endeavour. If you’re not entirely convinced yet, bear with us for a moment! What we mean is that projects evolve, take unexpected turns and in fact people rarely end up with the result that they envisioned at the very beginning. This whole project development process requires an open mind and willingness to learn, invent, reinvent and create along the way. You could show off your creativity competence by focusing your digital story on project development experience!

Have you developed any projects?
How has the creativity competence helped you along the way?
How did your creativity help you manage your team/or become a better team player?
Have you ever identified an opportunity to develop a project differently in order to achieve better/more desirable results?

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Dissemination

Review and dissemination

"I think performers are all show-offs anyway, especially musicians. Unless you show off, you're not going to get noticed."

Elton John

You’ve just created a video and you’re excited to share it with the whole world, congratulations! Welcome to the next step – that is trying to get your work seen. It might feel like you’ve done all the hard work already but … this step requires attention and planning as well. After all, if no one, or in fact if your prospective employers, won’t watch your digital story, all the hard work will be fruitless. 🍒 It is important to prepare a publicity plan. Here’s a couple of things to take into account:

Are you planning to attach this video with your application?
Maybe you’d like to circulate it to a wider audience?
Which channels are you going to use to distribute and why?
Where do hiring managers advertise the job? Maybe targeting them on those platforms eg. Linkedin woudl be

If you’re going to be using social media to distribute your video CV, it might be worth doing a relevant hashtag research to discover new opportunities to reach your potential employers. For instance, Tik Tok launched a video CVs programme in 2021 and in order for their resumes to be considered, people were asked to add #TikTokResumes hashtag.

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Multitasking

Self-management

“I like to juggle with one ball at a time. Then I put the ball down and do nothing for extended periods of time.”

Rowan Atkinson

Chances are that you will have to work on different projects simultaneously. If you’re able to effectively manage multiple assignments and ensure that all of them get the attention they deserve, you should consider mentioning this skill in your video CV. You could answer questions such as:

Are you able to prioritise? How?
How do you simultaneously work on different projects?
How do you adjust project schedules to maximize productivity?

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Script writing and story boarding

Preparation

“To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script.”

Alfred Hitchcock

So by now, you know already what you want to say, but here’s another question: how do you want to realise it in a video, with images and sound? This is the moment to imagine your story! Try to see and hear with your mind’s eyes and ears what you want the viewers to see and hear. Before getting cameras and phones out and recording your video CV, you better prepare. It’s good practice to write a script even if it’s just a simple outline. It will help you focus on what’s important and you won’t forget to mention anything. A script or storyboard should be clear to yourself, but also to the viewer. In fact, the viewer should be able to construct the video you have in mind on the basis of your script or storyboard.

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Empathy

Self-management

“The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.”

Plato

Claire Cain Miller from The New York Times draws attention to recent research which shows "that empathy makes people better managers and workers, and better family members and friends. But it’s bigger than just its personal effect. We’re all in this together, and researchers say that connection and compassion are crucial to a sustainable and humane future. ". The ability to understand and share the feelings of another is a sought-after skill in all work environments. How do you cultivate empathy? How can you show your prospective employer? Here’s a couple of prompts that might help you get started:

Would you consider yourself empathetic?
Do you find it easy to understand other people’s feelings, emotions and problems?
Do you actively seek to develop empathy? How?(volunteering, reading books …)

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Tell us more about your passion project or a hobby!

Creativity

“I draw like other people bite their nails.”

Pablo Picasso

There is no better way to show your creativity than sharing your work and talking about your creative process… even if the creativity skill is not listed as one of the requirements for the position you’re applying for, it is a sought-after competence and could help you differentiate yourself from the competition. Remember you don’t have to be a professional painter, director, designer, photographer or artist to share the projects that you are passionate about with prospective employers. A Video CV is a great way to show off your personality and interests, and can be a great conversation starter. Wonder where to start?

Do you draw, paint, perform, play a musical instrument, take photographs, write … mime? How long have you been doing this?
Could you show some examples of your creative projects? (presentation, video tour, etc…)
What did you learn from arts & crafts?
Have you developed any transversal skills?
Do you consider yourself creative? What incident made you think that?

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