Video CVs for interns and recent graduates

When you apply for an internship or your first job, the first question on your mind might be “I have no experience to talk about, so what do I say in the video?” But no one expects a long work history from an intern; employers want to see your curiosity, how you learn and whether you take on responsibility. A video is a great way to show exactly that.

What can you talk about instead of experience?

Work experience isn't the only proof. Each of the following can show skills that employers value:

Course and graduation projects: what problem did you solve, what tool did you use, and what was the result?
Student clubs: organizing an event, tracking a budget or coordinating a team.
Volunteering: taking on a regular responsibility and sticking with it.
Part-time and seasonal jobs: experience at a café, store or call center means customer communication and work discipline.
Courses, certificates and competitions: things you learned on your own initiative show your curiosity.
Personal projects: a website you built, a social media account you managed or a design you created.

Don't apologize for your lack of experience

A video that starts with “I don't have any work experience yet, but” draws the viewer's attention to what's missing. Your CV already says you're a student or a recent graduate; in the video, talk about what you have, not what you don't.

Instead of saying “I have no experience”, try a sentence like “I gained my first experience in this field through my graduation project.”
Instead of general adjectives, mention something concrete you've learned: a program, a method or something you applied in a class that stuck with you.
Instead of saying you're open to learning, show it: a course you took on your own initiative or a project you completed proves it.

A plan for a 60-second internship video

One minute is enough to introduce yourself. If you split the time into four parts, you won't leave anything out:

Introduce yourself (0-10 sec): your name, your field of study and your year.
Why this field? (10-25 sec): a class, project or experience that drew you to this field.
Show what you've done (25-50 sec): a project, club activity or job; what you did, how you did it and the result.
When can you work? (50-60 sec): your internship period, whether the internship is mandatory or voluntary, how many days a week you can work and your preferred city.

This plan is the same as the four steps on the internships page. For a longer, more detailed talk, see the 60-90 second talking plan.

Two sample scripts

Örnek konuşma: Student looking for a mandatory internship

Hi, I'm Can. I'm a third-year mechanical engineering student. My interest in manufacturing started on a factory tour I joined in my second year. Last semester, as part of a four-person team, we designed a small conveyor belt prototype for a class project; I prepared the technical drawings of the parts and fixed the measurement errors that came up during assembly. I'm on the competition team of my university's robotics club. I'd like to do my six-week mandatory internship in a production or maintenance unit this summer. I can work five days a week in Bursa or İstanbul. Thank you.

Örnek konuşma: Recent graduate, first job

Hi, I'm Elif. I graduated in psychology this year. At university, I volunteered for two years at an association's activities for children; I helped plan the activities and organize the volunteers' daily tasks. In my final year, we prepared a set of interview questions in a human resources class and tried them out in class. I enjoy working with people and organizing processes, so I'm looking for my first job in human resources. I can work full-time in İzmir or remotely, and I can start right away. Thanks.

İpucu: Don't read the examples word for word. Describing your own project in your own words is always more convincing.

Reminders for internship applications

Say whether your internship is mandatory or voluntary and how many working days it will last; companies plan around this.
Say clearly when you're available to work (summer term, during the semester or on specific days of the week).
Find out in advance which documents your school requires for the internship; this speeds things up once you're accepted.
Keep your field of study and year up to date in your written CV, so your video and written information say the same thing.

Standing out as a student on PlayCV

If you check the “I'm a student” option in your profile, an Intern tag appears on your CV cards, and your public CVs are also listed among interns in the candidate pool. You can find internship postings on the internships page and apply to each one with your video CV.

The completion rate is the main ranking factor in company searches: the more you fill in sections like video, education, certificates, languages and hobbies, the higher you appear. If your experience section will be short, filling in the other sections completely becomes even more important.

İpucu: PlayCV is free for students too. You pay nothing for membership, a video CV or applications.

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