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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?

Script writing and story boarding
Script writing and story boarding

Preparation

Script writing and story boarding
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.

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?

Multitasking
Multitasking

Self-management

Multitasking
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?

Evaluation
Evaluation

Review and dissemination

Evaluation
Evaluation

Review and dissemination

"Evaluation is creation: hear it, you creators! Evaluating is itself the most valuable treasure of all that we value. It is only through evaluation that value exists: and without evaluation the nut of existence would be hollow. Hear it, you creators!"

Friedrich Nietzsche

After you finish your video and before you start planning how you can share it, it might be worth taking some time to evaluate your video. While a video CV can help your chances of getting a job it can also hurt 🤕 them. Here’s a short checklist of things to consider before sending out your video CV.

  • Did you introduce yourself at the beginning?
  • Did you highlight your strengths and/or achievements?
  • Did you emphasize why you would be the perfect candidate?
  • Is the sound quality ok?
  • Is video quality good enough?
  • Have you showed your video to at least 5 people (friends, colleagues, family, industry people…?) and got their feedback?
  • Do you think some people might find it inconsiderate or offensive?
  • Do you think that core competencies are highlighted?
  • Do people recognise you in the video? Is the video authentic and personal?
Self-motivation
Self-motivation

Self-management

Self-motivation
Self-motivation

Self-management

“You can have all the tools in the world but if you don't genuinely believe in yourself, it's useless.”

Ken Jeong

The ability to stay motivated, even if something goes wrong, is an important and sought-after skill. Here’s a couple of examples that might help you demonstrate this ability:

  • How do you stay motivated? What inspires you to keep going?
  • Do you set yourself SMART goals?
  • Do you practice positive self-talk?
  • Do you try to surround yourself with positive people?
  • How do you reward yourself?

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?

Tell us more about your passion project or a hobby!
Tell us more about your passion project or a hobby!

Creativity

Tell us more about your passion project or a hobby!
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?

    We’ve prepared a couple of questions that might give you some inspiration:
  • 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?