Video Editor Resume Guide & Tips

Resumes, along with your creative profile, are an essential part of acquiring a job in the video editing field. Your resume should demonstrate your qualifications and experience to succeed in a potential career. Customizing your resume for each job application is critical, particularly since algorithms initially screen online applications before they reach a human being. If your resume doesn’t include the job’s keywords, it will likely never move beyond this first stage. You can take a few steps to create an application that will represent you well without being too time-consuming. Keep reading to discover the unique ways to get your resume past AI or RPA screening tools and into the hands of a hiring manager.

What to Put on a Video Editor Resume

According to a 2018 study conducted by job search site Ladders, the average hiring manager only spends 7.4 seconds scanning a resume before moving it to the potential candidates' stack or the recycle bin. The likelihood of a resume reaching this human interaction stage is even more limited in the 2020s as companies increasingly turn to AI technology to prioritize candidates. As more professionals enter the Video Editor profession, more applicants dedicate time to ensuring their resumes pass these first two evaluations. While every resume should cover essential items such as skills, education, and contact information, there are specific application highlights that will help you beat the algorithm. 

Introduce Yourself with a Personal Statement 

Many professionals begin their resumes by providing a brief profile or personal statement immediately after their contact information. While you can use your cover letter to describe why you want a video editing job, your resume is a chance to introduce yourself as both a professional and a person. Many Video Editors will include information about how long they have been in their industry, their area of expertise and artistic vision, and the types of work they gravitate toward. For example, a Freelance Video Editor might write a profile such as:

“Award-winning Film and Video Editor with fifteen years of freelance experience. I have a strong track record working on short films and commercials for independent organizations and clients. Adobe Certified Professional in Digital Video using Premiere Pro and highly proficient in Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D Lite.”

While personal statements should be unique to the user, there are a few practices that you can use to catch the eye of your application reviewer. When constructing your personal statement, use an active voice to bring your language to life. Your application should also work to highlight specific skill levels and program expertise over broad statements like “expert” or “skilled in video editing software.”

Use the Job Description’s Buzzwords to Highlight Skills and Experience

In today’s fast-moving job market, many Video Editors may feel tempted to create resumes, cover letters, and other application materials that are broad enough to be submitted to multiple job opportunities. While this standardized application may decrease the time and energy spent introducing yourself and your work to different organizations, these shortcuts will ultimately undermine your chances of getting hired. Job managers can discern the difference between a form letter and resume and an application written specifically for their organization. 

An easy way to stand out from other applicants is to tailor your resume to the prospective job. Rather than building a resume from scratch for each job posting, compare an existing resume to the job description. Use the required skills and experiences outlined in the job description as a template for your resume by highlighting education, projects, and professional experiences that will prepare you to excel. When possible, highlight your quantifiable experience (how many years) and proficiency level with software programs and skills so the hiring manager can measure your abilities. 

Tell a Story Through Your Education and Employment Histories 

All Video Editors share the experience of building and refining their skills and unique artistic identity over time. Defining your education and employment histories through the lens of gaining new skills, learning how to use different software, and refining your ability to work in a group and individually can help demonstrate your growth as a professional. When listing your educational and professional histories, make sure that you organize this information chronologically from the most recent examples. 

While your cover letter will give you a long-form opportunity to tie your experience together, try to use your resume to demonstrate how you expanded skills acquired in one experience through another. The video editing field thrives on innovation and new ways of telling stories and conveying messages. Use your resume to highlight your ability to adapt to new situations and expand your artistic brand to develop new projects. Focusing on skills growth will help prospective employers recognize your adaptability and ability to create work that fits their company’s unique brand and style. 

Focus on Quantifying Over Qualifying Achievements 

Most resumes are about one or two pages, depending on the application’s guidelines. New professionals may try to play with their resume’s margins and font size to fit all the information they wish to include. However, more seasoned applicants will recognize that they can edit longer descriptions to be more concise. Additionally, adhering to an application’s guidelines is the first test of an employee’s ability to follow instructions. 

Rather than focusing on the small details of an award or project, consider briefly stating why it was significant, what you learned from a particular project, or what skills you acquired from a work experience. At most, try to stick to two or three bulleted points that discuss how the experience helped you grow and learn professionally and personally. 

List Recognizable Qualifications and Educational Experiences 

Many job opportunities will require experience with one or more well-known video editing programs. While having a year or two of experience working with Premiere Pro or Cinema 4D indicates program familiarity, not all video editing experience will translate from one career to another. Video editing certificates or certifications in a video editing program are an excellent way to quantify your proficiency in a specific program or your general skill level to a potential employer. 

Video editing certificates and certifications can be costly and time-consuming to acquire. Unless they plan to teach a video editing software class, most professionals will choose to enroll in a certificate program. Certificate programs allow participants to explore various elements of this career without committing to the cost and study time necessary to achieve certification in a specific program. Check out Noble Desktop’s article about video editing certifications and certificates to learn which opportunities are best for you. 

5 Video Editor Resume Tips

After working on your application materials, you may feel eager to press “send” as fast as possible. However, you can add more to your resume to help it make a positive impression on hiring managers and recruiters. Use the following tips to ensure your application lands at the top of the review pile. 

Include Links to your Professional Social Media Profiles

Resumes and cover letters represent only a tiny portion of your story. While the application guidelines limit your ability to demonstrate the breadth of your accomplishments and projects, including links to a LinkedIn profile or a video editing portfolio is a great way to keep the attention of prospective employers and reach new ones. LinkedIn acts as an extended version of your resume, allowing you to gain skill endorsements from your colleagues, find communities of other video editors, and provide additional context about work experience and achievements. If you are new to building a LinkedIn site, consider checking out Noble Desktop’s Guide to Building a Successful LinkedIn page. This article includes essential tips and tricks for attracting potential employers and clients. 

Avoid Using Acronyms and Technical Jargon

Many Video Editors find community in using shared technical jargon and acronyms, especially if they have been in the field for many years. While you may think that demonstrating your familiarity with the unique language of this field signals your expertise to prospective employers, it can register as spelling errors or unprofessional writing to AI scanning technology or hiring managers with only passing knowledge of the video editing field. If you need to use an acronym when introducing a business or skill, define or spell out the term the first time you use it to ensure that all parties know what you want to convey. 

Add a Touch of Flair to Your Resume 

You may feel somewhat stifled by the required standardization of your application. But to get an opportunity to showcase your unique vision and talent through your portfolio, you need to make sure that your resume and cover letter pass the initial rounds of evaluation. However, you can still add a unique flair to your application. Many professionals add a conservative yet unique color to their resume borders or headers to catch the eye of hiring managers and recruiters. Others may choose a unique (but completely legible) font or organization style to make their application stand out. 

You still need to adhere to the basic rules of application standardization. Nevertheless, when you know the rules well, you can more easily work with them to represent your unique identity as an artist.

Plan Accordingly 

Do you struggle with procrastination? Or perhaps you are a bit of a perfectionist and sometimes become so wrapped up in the tiny details of your application that you miss deadlines. Applications to video editing professions can be time-intensive. You want to submit your application early so that it will be at the top of a hiring manager’s pile to review. But you also want to have enough time to review, edit, and finalize your application before you submit it. 

Rather than relying on form letters for all job applications or waiting until the last minute to finish your application, try to establish easy-to-follow steps in a timeline that guides you through your application process. Additionally, create an extended resume with every education experience, job opportunity, skill, and other relevant information. Use this as a template to customize your resume versions, trimming it to fit the needs and specifications of each job application. After creating a customized resume and cover letter, re-read the job description to ensure you hit the guidelines and requirements. This type of review will take time and is best to complete over a few days rather than several hours. 

Get Feedback

Your timeline should also account for a trusted friend or colleague to review and provide feedback on your resume. While you may feel vulnerable or uncomfortable asking another person to critique a document representing your personal and professional accomplishments, a second pair of eyes can correct awkward sentences, catch grammatical errors, and help you make the best impression. 

Video Editors looking to refine their technical skills while preparing to enter the job market can enroll in Video Editing Certificate or Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate programs. Offered by Noble Desktop, these certificate programs empower students by providing a tangible credential to include on their resumes. Both programs also provide several opportunities for individual mentorship and career advice from established Video Editors who can connect you to resources during your job search process and review your application materials, including your resume. 

Learn the Skills to Become a Video Editor at Noble Desktop

Are you excited to begin your Video Editor career but unsure where to start? Don’t stress! Noble Desktop is here to help! Noble Desktop offers many resources relevant to video editors at each leg of their professional journey. Professionals looking for a road map to entering or building their careers can explore training opportunities and career paths through Noble Desktop’s Learn Video Editing Page. Editors looking for a comprehensive overview of educational and practical training opportunities offered live online and in-person should check out Noble Desktop’s Video Editing Topic Page. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the video editing profession and relevant editing applications that professionals regularly use. 

Video Editors use various professional-grade applications to design and create their projects. But how do you determine which programs to add to your tool kit? Noble Desktop provides a comprehensive archive of learning resources that detail the functionality, level of learning difficulty, and cost of learning different applications. Foundationally, most professionals are well-versed in video editing software such as Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. If you are already established in the field and looking to gain a competitive edge in the job market, consider learning more about motion graphics software like After Effects or 3D animation and modeling through Cinema 4D.

As you explore these sophisticated visual graphics programs, you will likely recognize that learning these intricate programs on your own can be a lonely and complicated process. Luckily, Noble Desktop offers live online and in-person courses for video editors at all stages of their careers. For example, professionals ready to dive into the video editing field may want to enroll in a Premiere Pro Bootcamp or After Effects in a Day course. These fast-paced classes are an excellent way to rapidly build your video editing skills with the guidance of an experienced instructor. Video Editors looking to diversify their portfolios and demonstrate their skills to potential employers can pursue a Video Editing Certificate or a Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate. Students gain robust hands-on experience through small class sizes and project-based learning opportunities. Noble Desktop even offers a free retake option so students can refresh their skills and maximize their retention within a year of their class.