Rachel Levy: Social Media & Marketing

A couple of months ago, I had a second round interview for a job I was really interested in.  In this economy, I am seeing that companies are hiring, there are just a lot of candidates applying for each open position. So, I started thinking about a way that I could stand out from the other candidates applying for this job.

Part of the job description had to do with internet marketing, so I decided it would be a great idea to make a video thank you note, which would be a great way to stand out from other candidates, to market myself, and to utilize an online technique to show my comfort level with using technology.

Here’s the result of my first video:

This first one took me a long time to record, compress and upload, but I’ve now done three, and they’re a snap! Here’s how I do it:

• Make notes on what you would like to say in the thank you note. It’s best to not read every line (like I did in this video… my subsequent ones are better, but the job searches are still active so I’m not ready to share), but to just look at brief notes
• Put your notes as close to the webcam viewer as possible, so your eyes will be looking close to the camera
• The video above is close to 4 minutes, but I would recommend keeping it under 2 minutes
• Compress the video file in Windows Movie Maker (import the file, right click on the file to publish it, select compress)
• Upload the video to YouTube
• Email the link to your contacts

I have received positive feedback on the videos I’ve recorded.  I’m still looking for a job, but I do believe it has helped to get me to stand out from the other candidates.

What do you think?  Do you like this idea?  Have you ever heard of anyone doing this before?