First steps to a perfect video CV: Which video format to use? CV video formats The huge number of different video formats has a reason – its the particular purpose of a video: ● A 5-second-clip for Instagram to showcase a fancy dinner, to be watched on smart phones ● A 1-hour vacation video to be watched on a HD TV screen ● The latest Star Wars movie to be shown at a 3D-IMAX theatre Those options are not quite “interchangeable” … Therefore the purpose dictates the video device and the format Formats for recording, downloading and playing videos ● Different devices have their ● Different (competing) own data systems and use operating systems, browsers different formats to record and Social Media pages video and audio in one file: provide different video AVCHD, mov, vob, AVI, wmv, players; formats are usually mkv etc not interchangeable ● Video recording devices also ● Therefore better using video use their own codecs to files in universally accepted compress and decompress a formats, e.g. video file, e.g. FFMpeg, DivX, ● mp4 XviD, x264 etc ● gif ● flv More information about different video file formats Formats for website, Social Media: MP4, WEBM, HTML5, FLV, GIF ... Formats for TV: AVI, MOV, MKV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_file_format https://www.wix.com/blog/photography/2018/10/25/video-formats/ Video CV applications vs. online video CVs Online application form or link to recruiter page for video CV: – recording via webcam, tablet, smartphone etc – advantage: real-time upload via app; no saving, editing or formatting required – disadvantage: time limit; limited preview- or re-recording options; no rehearsing, editing or re-visiting options Recording, editing and uploading your own CV video: – different recording devices: smartphone, webcam, tablet, go-pro, photo/video camera etc – different video file formats – disadvantage: requires editing, rendering, formatting – advantage: time to plan, rehearse, edit, re-visit, re-edit Steps to your online video CV ● Recording the video via smartphone, tablet, iPad, GoPro, photo camera with video option, video camera etc ● Even if you use cloud services, keep the original video recording safely stored on a separate medium (dvd, data cd, external drive, SD card) and continue to work with a copy! ● Editing the video with the editing program of your choice, e.g. iMovie (Mac), VSDC Free Video Editor (Windows), VideoPad (Mac, Windows), Blender, Camtasia, DaVinci etc ● Rendering the video means transforming the editing project into a video clip that can be uploaded to the internet Most video programs allow rendering of clips in various different file sizes and formats, for example HitFilm: Example of video editing program presets When in doubt: mp4! ● Unfortunately there is nothing like the perfect video format, but I personally recommend mp4 as the simplest and most common which works with all operating systems, browsers and on most websites ● Video editing and rendering is not always necessary! Videos recorded from a smartphone, iPad or tablet can directly be uploaded to Social Media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube …) ● Some devices (iPad) offer a video editing option within the video recording app When in doubt: mp4! ● Unfortunately there is nothing like the perfect video format, but I personally recommend mp4 as the simplest and most common which works with all operating systems, browsers and on most websites ● Video editing and rendering is not always necessary! Videos recorded from a smartphone, iPad or tablet can directly be uploaded to Social Media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube …) ● Some devices (iPad) offer a video editing option within the video recording app Converting a video file ● Your CV video is in MOV, mkv or another format, but you would want to have a video in mp4 instead? No problem, it is possible to convert videos, e.g. at https://www.onlinevideoconverter.com/ ● When converting video files, there might be loss of image and/or sound quality due to file compression. ● Prepare several versions in different formats and sizes ● Choose the upload format and size according to purpose and target website: YouTube e.g. allows bigger files than Facebook ● Trial-and-error method: When unsure which video version, upload and test via PC and smartphone, which one looks best Options for transmitting or uploading a CV video ● Recruiter / ● E-mail and ● Free photo and headhunter messenging Video-platforms website: services: limited like Flickr, limited file size file-size Youtube, Vimeo for uploads etc. ● File transmission ● Personal website ● Social Media, e.g. platforms like and/or personal LinkedIn, GoogleDrive, domain, e.g. Wix Facebook, Dropbox, Twitter, WeTransfer etc Instagram... Other recommendations for CV videos ● Rehearse your presentation well - the less editing, the better ● Have a friend or family member behind the camera, then a friendly smile comes naturally ● Keep it simple ● Keep it short (1 - max 3 min) ● Keep it small – a huge video file also slows down a website ● Happy video CV making! © 2019 Klaudia Weber.