Communication is a powerful tool that can be used to present oneself and achieve various goals. Any job requires some extent of written and oral communication, which is critical to interact with managers, colleagues, and clients, properly translate the ideas and understand others. This self-evaluation paper focuses on two assignments that were completed earlier to discuss the strategies and discourse choices that were made by me to write them. While the summary of my LinkedIn CV is written in a more formal tone, my video CV is more detailed and appealing. The purpose of writing, storytelling, epithets, gestures, facial expressions, and other strategies are analyzed in this commentary.
In the process of job search, the applicants use both CV videos and LinkedIn profiles to present their preferences and identify what exactly they are looking for. In my LinkedIn profile summary, I briefly introduce myself, paying attention to my current position and career goals. After that, I mention my efforts to obtain a degree in Business Management to support my goals. The summary also includes information about my current job as a shift leader in a coffee shop, which shows that I am practicing communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, I mention my enthusiasm for photography, traveling, and Spanish-speaking countries.
In comparison, my video CV looks more creative and extended as I write about a greater number of details. Beginning with introducing myself as a 22-year-old marketing interim, I discuss why hiring me would be beneficial for organizations. Moving from my native country, Poland, to London at the age of 19 is stated to be a great step to my maturity, which taught me time-management, adaptation, and communication skills. In this CV, I try to be as sincere and appealing as possible to convince HR managers that I am interested in working actively and creatively. More attention is given to the importance of being open-minded and flexible to resolve emerging problems and work in teams. Likewise in my LinkedIn CV, I mention my leisure time activities, such as outdoors, writing articles, and learning Spanish. Such a variety of topics that I present in my video CV shows that I can balance my work and life, which is significant for an employee’s long-term effectiveness.
In the case of the LinkedIn CV, the audience primarily consists of HR managers looking for candidates for a particular job position. Therefore, I use a more formal language to identify my personality, goals, and experiences, which is expected to allow HR managers to relate the job position and my CV. On the contrary, a video CV is for a wider audience that may include HR managers, department or company directors, supervisors, marketing specialists, and other team members that would work with me. In this connection, the language of the writing is more informal, containing words that are easier to listen to and understand. In the LinkedIn CV, I try to construct my identity as if I were directly talking to the person, while the video is intended to attract the attention of several people at once. In both tasks, I avoid using general phrases that may seem meaningless, instead of focusing on my professional values and aspirations. It seems that such discourse demonstrates to my future employees that I can benefit their organization. My brand statement is the last sentence of the LinkedIn CV, and it so not so clearly formulated in the video, rather it is translated across the writing.
My video CV can be characterized as having more rhetorical techniques compared to my LinkedIn CV, which depends on the extent of formality. The first task implies verbal communication, and I use several action verbs to describe the responsibilities of my current job and also pay attention to my strong points. In addition, I adopt the technique of storytelling as it allows readers to understand how I live my life and how I imagine my future. I also examine my growing skills, stating my education-related issues, such as interests and achievements. By mentioning that I am interested in the business world and Spanish, I argue that I would like to combine these two aspirations to develop them across my career.
The method of storytelling is also used for my video CV to outline the stages of my life that led me to the decision to explore the business world. Namely, I begin with my optimism and creativity, continue with the reasons for moving to London, and end with a personal purpose statement. Through storytelling, the readers understand my development, both personal and professional. Another rhetorical technique is epithets that can be found in different parts of the CV since they help in making it more colorful and appealing to the target audience. More to the point, non-verbal communication is presented by gestures and the voice tone, namely, I avoid crossed arms and legs, and my hands are open to reflect my sincerity and enthusiasm. A particular emphasis is given to my love of languages and making a positive impact on businesses, serving as a dedicated and passionate team member. As for the LinkedIn CV, similar points are made in a formal tone.
To communicate my goals and convince the target audience that I am a relevant candidate for their job position, I used storytelling: “I have been perfecting my retail and customer service skills”, “I decided to move to London”, “Before moving to London I was working as a tour guide”, “After moving to London I became a barista”, and so on. The examples of epithets include “open-minded”, “flexible”, “passionate”, “dedicated”, “optimistic”, “organized”, and others. I refer to pathos as a means to appeal to the emotions of the target audience in my video CV. For instance, I use some images to make them feel empathy and love: “I loved the life I can live here being surrounded by so many inspiring people”. The use of ethos can be identified in listing some terminology, such as “merchandising, retailing and customer service”. As for non-verbal communication, my face is neutral and welcoming, and I smile while speaking about my lessons, but my general appearance remains open, focused, and friendly. It is beneficial to show that I understand my future responsibilities and am ready to join a new company.
To conclude, my formal LinkedIn CV and my informal video CV represent my career goals and experiences. They communicate similar points but use different strategies and discourse choices to reach the target audiences. I strongly believe that both of these tasks are important as they help to better understand the opportunities of verbal and non-verbal communication, while this self-reflection writing allowed me to analyze my statement.