Self-introduction video for a job: script and phone setup

More and more applications ask for a short video alongside the CV: graduate schemes, internships, customer-facing roles, and plenty of remote jobs. The recruiter wants to see that you can explain yourself clearly and that you fit the role. If the posting gives a length, stick to it exactly. If it does not, aim for 60 seconds and never go past two minutes. Most advice stops at “don’t read a script”, without saying how many words fit in that minute or how to keep your notes in view without looking like you are reading them. That is what this page is for.

How many words fit in a 60-second video

Most people speak to a camera at around 150 words per minute, and a little slower, around 130, when they are nervous or careful. A minute of self-introduction is therefore 130 to 150 words. Write 140 and you have room for a breath between sections and one sentence you trip over.

Paste your draft into the speech length calculator to see how long it runs at your pace. Every other length, and where the rates come from, is in how many words per minute in a speech.

The four-part self-introduction script

Almost every good self-introduction video follows the same order: who you are, one strength, the proof, and the ask. With 140 words in total, each part gets a budget:

The opening does not need a clever hook: the recruiter wants to know who is talking and for which role. The proof is the part that counts most and the part most people skip. “I’m a proactive team player” proves nothing; “ticket sales went from 40 a show to 130” does. For sentences that sound spoken rather than written, see how to write a teleprompter script.

What to say, and what to leave out

In sixty seconds, what you leave out matters as much as what goes in.

• Say: the role by name, one skill the posting asks for, one concrete example (a placement, a society, volunteering, a family business, a side project) and your availability — start date, notice period, willingness to relocate.
• Leave out: your whole CV in date order, a list of adjectives, salary expectations, criticism of a past employer, and personal details the role did not ask for, such as age, marital status or your home address.
• If the employer set questions, answer them in their order, and use the four parts inside each answer.

Three sample scripts for a job application

Swap what is in brackets, and the numbers, for your own. Each script is about 136 words, or just under a minute at 150 words per minute. Each paragraph is one of the four parts.

Graduate role (marketing) — 136 words, about 1 minute

Hi, I’m [Sophie Carter]. I graduated in Business and Marketing from [the University of Leeds] in July, and I’m applying for the Marketing Assistant role at [company].

What I bring is a habit of measuring things. In my final year I ran social media for the student theatre society, and I started a weekly report of what each post did, which nobody on the committee had done before.

Over two terms, ticket sales from Instagram went from about 40 a show to 130, and two of our posts were picked up by the local paper. It taught me to try something small, check the numbers, and change what isn’t working.

I can start in September, and I’d love to talk about how I could help your team reach more of the right people. Thanks for watching.

Career change (hospitality to project coordination) — 137 words, about 1 minute

Hello, I’m [Daniel Okafor]. I’ve spent six years managing a busy restaurant in [Manchester], and I’m applying for the Project Coordinator role at [company]. I’d like to explain why that’s less of a jump than it looks.

Running a restaurant is project coordination with a dinner deadline: suppliers, rotas, budgets and a team of eighteen, every single night of the week.

Last year I moved our ordering from paper to a shared spreadsheet and cut food waste by about a fifth, which saved roughly twelve thousand pounds. I’ve also just finished a project management certificate, so I now have the language for what I’ve been doing for years.

I’m looking for a role where that kind of organisation counts every day, not just on Saturday nights. I’m available on two weeks’ notice. Thank you for your time.

First job (customer service) — 136 words, about 1 minute

Hi, I’m [Maya Johnson]. I finished high school in June, and I’m applying for the Customer Service Associate position at [store].

I haven’t had a paid job yet, but I’ve been doing customer service for two years. I help at my uncle’s hardware store on weekends, and I answer the store’s online messages.

That’s about thirty messages a day: orders, returns and the occasional unhappy customer. I’ve learned to stay calm, find the answer, and follow up so nobody has to ask twice. I keep a simple log, so nothing gets lost. This summer I also volunteered at the [city] food bank, sorting donations for over two hundred local families.

I’m reliable, I live fifteen minutes away, and I can work evenings and weekends. Thank you for considering me. I’d really welcome the chance to interview.

For a two-minute video, add a second piece of proof and a sentence on why this company in particular, up to about 280 words. The same shape works for a video resume (a video CV in the UK): keep it to one role and one minute, and make a new version for each application rather than one general video.

A video you send, or a one-way interview

A self-introduction video reaches the employer in one of two ways, and they need different preparation:

• You record it and send a file or a link. You can record on your phone at your own pace, do as many takes as you like and pick the best one. Everything on this page applies.
• You record it inside a one-way interview platform. The questions appear on screen, usually with a short preparation time and a limited number of attempts, and the platform records through your laptop’s webcam or its own app. What you bring is a rehearsed answer, not a file. Read the instructions on the invitation: prep time, retakes and length are set by the employer, not the platform.

For the second kind, rehearse each likely question on your phone as a recorded take and watch it back. If the platform runs in a laptop browser, our free online teleprompter can sit in a narrow window right under the webcam with a few keywords on it; it only shows text, and the platform does the recording. The same idea for live calls is in teleprompter for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Keywords, not paragraphs: a recruiter can tell an answer that is being read.

Recording it on your phone

When you send a file, a phone is all you need. What matters is light, sound and where your eyes go, not the camera.

1. Landscape or portrait, as asked. With no instruction, record landscape (16:9): most recruiters watch on a computer. If they ask for vertical, use 9:16.
2. Lens at eye level, an arm’s length away (60–90 cm, two to three feet), framed from the chest up. The full setup is in how to film a talking-head video on your phone.
3. Light in front of you, quiet around you. Face the window, never sit with your back to it, and switch off the fan.
4. The script in a band just under the front camera. The closer the line you are reading is to the lens, the less your eye movement shows. How and why is in how to read a script while looking at the camera, and the step-by-step setup in how to use a teleprompter on your phone.
5. Rehearse twice without recording, rewrite any sentence you stumble on, and set the speed a little below your natural pace. Nerves speed everyone up.
6. Record three to five takes and pick the most natural one, not the most perfect. The techniques are in how to sound natural reading a script, and if the camera itself is the problem, how to be confident on camera.
7. Trim the start and end, and export without a watermark. The video starts on “Hi” and ends on “thank you”. An app logo in the corner looks careless, so open the file in your gallery and check before you send it. Which apps export clean is covered in teleprompter apps with no watermark.

Doing it in Orate, free

Orate is ours: a teleprompter that records video, on iPhone, iPad and Android. For a self-introduction video, the free version is enough.

• The script scrolls in a band right under the front camera — 45% of the screen to start with, adjustable from 15% up to the full screen. Record in landscape and the band moves to the edge where the lens is.
• One tap starts the recording and the scroll together, after a countdown. The speed, in words per minute, changes mid-take without losing your place, and the script never appears in the video.
• After the take you can trim it and crop it to Landscape 16:9 or Vertical 9:16. There is also a prompter-only mode for rehearsing without recording.
• Free: up to 1080p, saved with no watermark, no account, works offline, and if the app closes mid-take you lose at most the last two seconds. You get three saved scripts — one for each application you are working on now.
• Pro adds 4K, 60fps, HDR, unlimited scripts and Follow my voice, which scrolls at the pace you speak. You do not need it for this; there is a three-day free trial and the price is on the app’s store page.

Orate does not add captions, record your screen or correct your gaze with AI. For a video with slides, see teleprompter for presentations.

Checklist before you send it

• The length is within what the posting asked for (or one minute, if it did not say).
• Your name, the role and the right company name in the first ten seconds.
• Your face lit from the front, and audio with no echo or background noise.
• Eyes on the lens: watch it through once with the sound off.
• The start and end are trimmed, with no watermark or app branding.
• The orientation is the one asked for (landscape, if nothing was said).
• If you are sending a link, it opens in a private browser window. A restricted cloud-drive link is the most common mistake.

Questions people ask

How long should a self-introduction video for a job be?

As long as the posting asks. If it does not say, make it one minute and never more than two. One minute holds your name and the role, one strength, one result with a number, and when you can start.

How many words is a 1-minute self-introduction?

Between 130 and 150 words. Most people speak to a camera at about 150 words per minute and slow to around 130 when they are careful, so 140 words is a safe target with room for pauses.

Can I read a script in a self-introduction video?

Yes, as long as it does not look read. Write short spoken sentences, rehearse twice, and put the text in a band just under the front camera so your eyes stay near the lens. Record a few takes and keep the most natural one.

Should a self-introduction video be landscape or portrait?

Whatever the employer asks for. With no instruction, record landscape (16:9), because recruiters usually watch on a computer. If they ask for vertical, use 9:16.

What is the difference between a video resume and a self-introduction video?

Mostly the name. A video resume, or video CV, is a short self-introduction sent with an application. Keep either to about a minute, aim it at one specific role, and record a new one for each application.

How do I send a self-introduction video to an employer?

The way the application asks: an uploaded file, a link, or a recording made inside a hiring platform. If it is a link, use a cloud-drive link set to anyone with the link, or an unlisted YouTube video, and test it in a private browser window first.