Job searching sucks! It’s pretty much a full-time job. You’re either too tired from working that crappy job all day or too overwhelmed with submitting multiple applications, customizing your resume for each one, and trying to keep track of everything. Each rejection email hurts a little more than the previous one.
And to top it all off, they’re thousands of other people searching for jobs, so you have competition. Trust me; we’ve all been there!
A few years after moving to the U.S., I realized I was at a job I hated & this was not the American dream. I started applying to jobs & either wouldn’t hear back or would get rejection emails, I wasn’t getting interviews. I tried everything! One day I decided to take matters into my own hands. If they weren’t going to invite me to an interview, I was going to invite myself! That’s when I created my first video cover letter.
The video was about my background, my experience, and included details about why people enjoyed working with me. I quickly learned that the video allowed recruiters & hiring managers to see the human behind the application. The best part was it worked! I started getting interviews and eventually landed one of the most life-changing jobs I’ve had so far.
The Job Search has changed for me since using a video cover letter. Becoming a human to recruiters & hiring managers has made me enjoy the job search.
As a recruiter, I’ve come across a few video cover letters, and I’ve seen how they can go wrong. Just like with anything you use during your job search, you want to make sure that it is an accurate representation of who you are. You also want it to be something that will impress a potential employer.
When I created my first video cover letter, back in 2013, I didn’t realize it, but that was the beginning of my personal brand. I’m lucky to be married to a man that has been making movies since he was a kid. Video has always been a major part of Jonathan’s life. He was able to help me film and edit a professional-looking video. We used very simple equipment back then, and my script was super basic. Over the years, I’ve created different video cover letters. When it comes to the script, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. The same goes for the actual video edit.
All the years I’ve spent hiring people in the Software Industry has shown me what employers are looking to know about a candidate before deciding to invite them to an interview. As an Engineering Manager, when I worked with recruiters, I was very specific about what information they needed to send me about a candidate. As a Recruiter, I’ve worked with hiring managers that were even more demanding and specific than I was. As a Career Coach, I’ve taken this knowledge and used it to with all of the developers and PMs that I’ve coached; to help them know what parts of their experience they should highlight when talking to a potential employer.
I started How To Level Up because I truly believe in the power of using video to tell your career story. There’s a lot of competition out there, and you really have to stand out to get noticed. Apply for 1:1 Coaching Today, and I’ll show you how to get noticed by employers.
I teach overlooked professionals how to capture the attention of employers & secure interviews with ease by finding their voice & establishing an undeniable personal brand.
Job Search Tips to go from Overlooked to Noticed & Paid
