Video Personal Statement

CREATING YOUR VIDEO PERSONAL STATEMENT

To get the job you want, you need to make a great first impression. This first impression usually comes from your resume or cover letter since an employer will see it before seeing you. Dayaway believes an employer should see you first. We feel that a very brief but impactful video statement from you will bring your resume to life and make an employer want to know more about you. So here’s what you can do.

Develop Your Statement. You get 20 – 30 seconds, several sentences, to make your pitch. This is not easy. Focus on what you say and how you say it. Be specific, original. Demonstrate knowledge of, or passion in, alternative energy. Make every word count. Examples of strong messages might be: why you feel a specific smart grid policy/technology will be a game changer, or why you think the EV growth, agriculture support for wind energy and rising oil prices is the perfect storm. Make an employer think, “I want to know more about him/her.”

Record Your Statement on Youtube. It’s really easy to use your laptop webcam and Youtube to create a video. Check out this tutorial video to see how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gz2jOARnog Re-record your video until it is perfect. Look and sound like a professional. Be genuine. Sell your personality. Please ignore the video’s references to “an interview” as we are using the tutorial video to prepare interviews, too.

Upload Your Video. The Update Profile link on Dayaway allows you to upload a video link.

That’s it. Dayaway will be featuring the really good video statements on its new home page to make it easier for employers to see them and to inspire other students. Please email mike@dayawaycareers.com if you have any questions or feedback. Thanks.

Examples. Here are some examples of video personal statements:

Stephen, Northwestern, 2013 BS Industrial Eng.
Leslie, Vanderbilt, 2011 BS Civil Eng.
Mitch, Cornell, 2013 Mechanical Eng.

PS—If at any time you don’t want your video to be shown, we will stop using it. Promise. Also, you can use your own youtube account if you have one. We’re offering the dayawaytalkingheads (referenced in the tutorial video) account to make this process easier.

PSS – This whole process should take you about an hour (mostly practicing to sound and look good J