Video:Create a DVD resume

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Transcript:Create a DVD resume

Hi, I'm Don Schechter for About.com. Depending on your career path, you may want to create a DVD resume to send out to potential employers. It will give you an advantage over people with paper resumes.

Supplies Needed for a DVD Resume

You'll need a camera and editing and DVD creation software like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. DVD resumes are particularly useful for anyone involved in design of any kind, visual arts, or anything that can be portrayed in front of a camera.

Create a DVD Resume Setting

Potential employers will want to see your face, so you should always introduce yourself first. You may be more comfortable sitting down. Make sure that you are lit well and that the microphone is getting every word. You may want to reconstruct the background so it doesn't look like your living room or bedroom. You want the focus to be on you. Talk right into the camera so that when people watch it, it will be as though you are talking directly to them. Relax and be yourself.

Add Media to Your DVD Resume

Then if you have graphics, clips of performances, art, design, or any visuals of your work put those after your initial introduction. This way your employers can connect your face and voice with the products that you have made. You can add text to describe what is on screen. If you have won any awards on certain item that you show, be sure to add that as text.

State Your Experience in the DVD Resume

Next, you can briefly describe your resume. Start with your education if you are a recent college grad. Then go into what you've been doing since graduating. You can be very general here and just describe your last position or your longest held position. Be sure to mention any awards or certificates you received.

DVD Resume Camera Tips

If you have a friend working the camera, ask them to get different shots of you, either from different angles or close ups of your head and shoulders to mid shots which show you from the waist up. You can talk straight into the camera again, but this does not mean you cannot look away or blink. If it helps, have a friend behind or the camera who you can look at. Your friend might also act as an interviewer and ask you questions about your career. You may want to talk about your proudest accomplishment or some challenges that you have overcome. You don't have to talk straight through your whole resume. It's okay if you make mistakes and want to start a sentence over.

Edit the DVD Resume

When editing your clips together, it might be a good idea to put transitions between each clip you use to make it flow better. Find music to go with your resume, preferably some with no lyrics which could be distracting or send the wrong message. Depending on how much detail you go into in your resume description, the DVD resume may be longer.

DVD Resume Length

Remember that anyone who will be reviewing the DVD probably won't have a lot of time to focus on one application. A DVD resume longer than 10 minutes might get fast forwarded or abandoned after the first few minutes. At the end make sure you put your contact information in writing.

After you burn your DVD, be sure to label it with your name, contact info and website if you have one. Do not forget to test it out in a DVD player before you send it out.

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