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Active listening
Active listening

Collaboration

Active listening
Active listening

Collaboration

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

Epictetus

Active listening is a prerequisite for effective collaboration. This can help avoid miscommunication and improves teamwork in the workplace. Here’s a couple of questions you might answer in order to demonstrate this skill:

  • Do you consider yourself good at actively listening to others? Why?
  • What do you think takes to be a good listener? Why?
  • Do you demonstrate concern and try to build trust when you communicate with another person? Do you think that’s important? Why?
  • Do you observe non-verbal cues when you talk to other people? Do you think it helps to understand people better? Why?
  • If you don’t fully understand something, do you ask other person to clarify or rephrase?
  • Why do you think that’s important?

How well do you adapt to new environments?
How well do you adapt to new environments?

Flexibility

How well do you adapt to new environments?
How well do you adapt to new environments?

Flexibility

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same. Even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Flexibility competence is tested and developed when having to adapt to new environments. Especially if one moves abroad to study/work/live. Demonstrate your ability to adapt to new environments by answering the questions below 👇

  • Have you lived abroad? How did you adapt to new culture?
  • What have you learned from living abroad?
  • Do you like working/living/immersing yourself in multicultural environments? What do you like/don’t like about it?
  • How do you handle cultural differences?

Don’t have professional equipment to film your video?
Don’t have professional equipment to film your video?

Execution

Don’t have professional equipment to film your video?
Don’t have professional equipment to film your video?

Execution

“I don't get tripped up in technology. I use technology as a tool.”

Spike Lee

Even if you do not own a camera and professional editing software, there’s plenty of resources that you consider. Here’s a couple of suggestions:

  • Visit your local library, Community center, youth center or contact NGOs that help people find employment
  • You can always rent or borrow equipment
  • Create a video using alternatives (ppt, online open-source tools, Blender, Google slides, iMovie ...)
  • Remember you do not have to use professional cameras to create a video, you can always record your video with your phone, tablet or your laptop.

Problem solving
Problem solving

Creativity

Problem solving
Problem solving

Creativity

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”

Albert Einstein

Creativity is one of the competences essential to problem solving. Rules, guidelines and best practice manuals are helpful and can get you a result but they are not always available. Furthermore, in order to achieve extraordinary results, everyone needs to sometimes think “outside the box”. Demonstrate your problem-solving skills by answering the questions below 👇

  • What problem-solving event are you most proud of? Why and what happened?
  • How do you ensure that after having dealt with problems they do not repeat? Have you developed a method/technique to solve similar problems?
  • Tell us about a situation where you used creative thinking to eliminate frustration with a product/situation or a process.
  • Describe a situation where you had to think “outside the box” and how did you go about it?

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

Execution

What to do if you do not want to film yourself?
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! 🐕🐈🐟

Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking

Creativity

Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking

Creativity

“The most reliable way to predict the future is to create it.”

Abraham Lincoln

Creativity + planning = strategic thinking, and if you’re good at it, remember to mention this skill in your video CV!

  • What are your career goals? Are your ambitions reasonable and in line with the organisation’s/company's goals?
  • How and if you would change the company/organisation?
  • How would you contribute to its growth?
  • Can picture what the organisation could transform into with you?
  • You could possibly show your prospective employers what it would be like to work with you.

Dealing with unwanted emotions
Dealing with unwanted emotions

Self-management

Dealing with unwanted emotions
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?

Communication skills
Communication skills

Collaboration

Communication skills
Communication skills

Collaboration

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Mark Twain

Good communication skills are key to effective collaboration in the 21st century. If you can communicate your ideas clearly and concisely, you can reduce the likelihood of mistakes and misunderstandings. If effective communication is your strong suit – be sure to mention it! The question is how, right? Here’s a couple of prompts that might help you get the ball rolling:

  • Can you write emails, write blog posts and/or other types of messages that are clearly formatted, skimmable and get your point across?
  • Can you edit information and repurpose content and then adapt it to different platforms/channels?
  • Are you capable of evaluating your audience and tailoring communication accordingly?
  • What makes you think that you’re a good communicator?
  • Can you convey your ideas clearly and concisely?