Video resumes have become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, one of which being that they combine a traditional application with a first interview. Not only will potential employers be presented with your qualifications and background, but they’ll also get to meet you. A great video resume will show off your strong points and showcase the better parts of your personality. Are you ambitious and enthusiastic, or serious and determined? With a video resume, everyone will be able to tell. 

You may have heard that starting a blog is a great way to promote your visibility to potential employers while you’re searching for work. A YouTube channel is a modernized way of starting a blog. People love video content even more than they love written content, and informative videos help visual learners process information. Can you share advice or tutorials with the world? Post a few helpful videos, share them on your other profiles, and add relevant tags to your upload. You may build a small following while becoming a respected authority within your niche.

Do you offer services that other YouTube Creators may desire? It may be time to get in touch with them. Familiarize yourself with popular creators. They may need a graphic designer, a ghostwriter for their blog, a PR representative, an entertainment lawyer – the list goes on and on. By watching them on YouTube, you’ll get a sense of their personal styles. If you can provide them with something that they need and you have a solid portfolio, they may take you up on your offer. 

If any part of your job is visual, YouTube is one of the best ways to show off what you can do. Photo examples are great, but YouTube examples are even better. If you delivered any important speeches or lectures at your previous job that were recorded, upload them. If you work with your hands, upload clips that demonstrate you doing the things you do best. If you’ve already uploaded a visual resume, you can link YouTube portfolio samples at the end using annotations.

Can you market your skills in the freelance world? What about becoming an entrepreneur, or a freelance professional? This is perhaps the most ambitious way to use YouTube in your quest for employment, but the reality is that an increasing amount of individuals have done just that. Through monetization of YouTube videos, supplementary websites with blogs, and fan funding features through platforms like Patreon and YouTube itself, plenty of people have created thriving careers based on their YouTube presence alone. Just don’t stop your job search until things have really taken off, and accept any opportunities that may present themselves while you embark on your YouTube venture. 

If you play your cards right, YouTube can become as valuable of a resource as LinkedIn or Twitter when it comes to finding employment. Don’t forget to use a multitude of platforms at once to increase your chances of success.