LinkedIn has launched new features and tools to help members and job seekers create their profile in a more comprehensive and expressive way.
The Cover Story feature is the new way for members to display their personality and highlight their skills and career goals to recruiters and managers in a more distinctive and dynamic way.
Although some claim that this feature will harm candidates’ chances due to prejudice and discrimination, a recent US survey indicated that nearly 80% of hiring managers believe that watching a pre-recorded video of a job seeker will be good and beneficial.
The cover video feature also allows showing the character’s skills apart from his experience in his field, as the job seeker can reveal his enthusiasm, attractiveness and his ability to communicate with others, which drives recruiters to communicate with him quickly and share the job opportunity related to his field of expertise.
How to Capture a “Featured LinkedIn Cover Story”:
As this feature became available on LinkedIn, some people may make huge mistakes due to their misuse of it, so here are the steps for filming a great and successful cover story:
Write a simple and distinctive introduction:
Note down the main points you want to talk about, or place them in big fonts in front of you on the screen so you can quickly peek at them.
It is a good idea to write what you want to say to your audience on LinkedIn in a conversational way, and try to appear in your spontaneous and real form without exaggeration or pretension.
Create a professional intro video, not in the form of a selfie:
First, your video must have good lighting and clear audio to be professional.
While trying to avoid shooting with a smartphone camera if you can, or make sure to support it with a tripod to keep photography stable and balanced.
In addition, choose a quiet place away from noise or echo, to get the correct sound during the video, and consider using a microphone for recording or processing the sound with software for audio filtering.
Rate the video shooting and be honest in criticizing yourself:
After you shoot your video, try to review it to discover weaknesses and errors and work on re-filming to amend and overcome them, and check your facial expressions, clothes, body language and all the details that may affect the quality of your video.
You can watch the videos others have posted in their Cover Video feature on LinkedIn, to take a look at how it was displayed and what it was like.
Don’t think creating a single intro video will enough:
Keep in mind that whenever you gained something new and want to add it, you have to edit the intro of the video, so it becomes more targeted.
Conclusion:
With the Cover Story feature, you can give your audience a great and fun video introduction, and make it your first step in your search for a job opportunity that matches your experience and skills.
Let recruiters find and know you through your cover story, and attract them to hear you talk about your services and capabilities.
It is simpler than you think; all you have to do is bring your tools from a camera and a microphone to start photographing yourself with enthusiasm and fun.
