# 60 second introduction video script templates with timings

Three 60 second introduction video scripts with timing per section, for a job seeker, a career changer and a student, plus how to adapt them to your story.

By Pranav Reddy, founder of hi.video. Published 2026-08-31, updated 2026-08-31. Canonical page: https://hi.video/blog/60-second-introduction-video-script

## Short answer

A 60 second introduction video has four parts. Give your name and who the video is for in the first ten seconds, one piece of work or study with a specific detail for about thirty seconds, what you would like to happen next in ten seconds, and a thank you using the viewer's name. Write it, read it aloud twice, then record without looking.

A minute is longer than it feels. Spoken at a normal pace it holds about 140 words, which is enough to say who you are, show one thing you have done and ask for something, as long as you do not spend the first twenty seconds warming up.

The three scripts below are built to that length. Each has timings per section so you can see where the seconds go, and each is written to be said rather than read. Swap in your own details and keep the proportions.

## The shape every 60 second introduction shares

There are four sections, roughly timed.

- 0 to 10 seconds. Your name, the viewer's name, and why you are recording for them.
- 10 to 40 seconds. One thing you have done, with a detail that proves you were there.
- 40 to 52 seconds. What you would like to happen next.
- 52 to 60 seconds. Thanks, with their name again.

The middle section is where the video succeeds or fails. People are tempted to list several things. One thing, told properly, is more convincing than three things named.

If you want the reasoning behind the shape, [how to introduce yourself in a video](https://hi.video/blog/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-a-video) goes through what to say first and what to leave out. The scripts below assume you have read that or do not need to.

## Script one, for a job seeker

For someone applying to a specific role and sending the video to the recruiter or hiring manager.

> (0 to 10) Hi Ruth, I'm Adaeze. I applied for the marketing coordinator role on Monday and wanted to introduce myself before you get to my CV.
>
> (10 to 40) I have spent the last two years running email and social for a small chain of bakeries. The project I would point to is a loyalty email I rewrote after noticing nobody opened the old one. I cut it to four lines and one photo of that week's bread, and enough more people opened it that the owner asked me to do the same for the signs in the shops.
>
> (40 to 52) If the role involves that kind of hands-on work, I would love fifteen minutes to hear how your team runs. My email is on the application.
>
> (52 to 60) Thanks for watching, Ruth.

The bread is what makes this work. A detail that specific reads like it came from someone who did the job, and it tells Ruth that Adaeze notices things.

## Script two, for a career changer

For someone moving into a new field, where the job titles on the CV do not match the role. The video has to do the work the CV cannot, which is to explain the move so that it sounds like a decision rather than an escape.

> (0 to 10) Hi Jonas, I'm Mei. I'm applying for the junior UX researcher role, and because my CV says "nurse" for the last six years, I wanted to explain the connection myself.
>
> (10 to 40) Most of nursing is finding out what a patient is not telling you and changing the plan. Last year I started doing that for the ward's discharge paperwork. I sat with twelve patients while they filled it in, wrote down where they got stuck, and the ward rewrote the forms from my notes. That was the first time I realised the part of nursing I liked had a job title.
>
> (40 to 52) I have since finished a short research methods course, and I would be glad to walk you through the discharge project on a call if it would help.
>
> (52 to 60) Thanks for your time, Jonas.

The script spends almost nothing on the new qualification and almost everything on the old job, described in the language of the new one. That is deliberate. A career changer's strongest evidence is usually in the field they are leaving, and the job is to translate it.

## Script three, for a student

For a student or recent graduate introducing themselves to a potential employer or a mentor. Students tend to apologise for not having experience. The fix is to treat coursework and part-time jobs as experience, because they are.

> (0 to 10) Hi Dr Okafor, I'm Luis, a final-year economics student. Your lab posted a summer research assistant position, and I wanted to say hello directly.
>
> (10 to 40) My dissertation has me cleaning three years of bus ridership data from the city council, which arrived as forty spreadsheets with different column names in each. I wrote a small script to reconcile them, and I am now looking at whether fare changes moved riders between routes. I spend most of my week in that data and I like it more than I expected to.
>
> (40 to 52) I would value ten minutes to hear what the assistant role involves day to day, and I am happy to share the reconciliation script if it is useful.
>
> (52 to 60) Thank you, Dr Okafor.

Luis never mentions his grades or lists his modules, and he does not say he is a hard worker. He describes one project the way someone who did it would, including the annoying part.

## How to adapt a template without it sounding like one

Replace every borrowed detail with one of yours, then read the script aloud and listen for the sentences you would never say in person. Those are the ones to rewrite.

Keep the timings. If your middle section runs to fifty seconds, you have two examples in there. Pick one.

Say the viewer's name at the start and at the end. If you are sending to several people, keep the middle the same and re-record the whole thing for each person. The middle will come out nearly identical and the opening will be theirs.

Do not add a joke to the opening. A good joke takes eight seconds you need, and a bad one takes the next fifty.

## Recording the minute

Write the script, read it aloud twice, then close it. Put four words on a sticky note beside the camera and talk through them.

If you lose the thread, stop and record again. Nobody needs to see the first attempt.

You can [record your first hi](https://hi.video/app) in the browser on hi.video with your camera, or with your screen plus camera if the project is worth showing.

The free plan allows five published videos a month at up to one minute each, which is part of why these scripts are built to a minute. The longer limits on Pro are on the [pricing page](https://hi.video/pricing). You can add captions, which helps when the viewer opens the link somewhere they cannot turn the sound on.

Every video on hi.video is recorded in the browser with the hi.video recorder. There are no uploads and no AI avatars, and the "Recorded in hi.video" label says only that. It does not prove who is on camera, and the [trust page](https://hi.video/trust) explains what it does and does not mean.

If you are unsure whether a minute is right for your situation, [how long should an intro video be](https://hi.video/blog/how-long-should-an-intro-video-be) covers when to go shorter and when a longer video is justified. If the video is going with a formal application, [what to say in a video cover letter](https://hi.video/blog/video-cover-letter-what-to-say) covers how to pair it with the written letter.

## Questions people ask

**How many words fit in a 60 second introduction video?**

About 130 to 150 words at a comfortable speaking pace. People tend to talk faster on camera than they expect, so a script that looks short on the page is usually right. If your draft is over 170 words, cut a sentence rather than speed up.

**What do you say in a one minute self introduction?**

Your name and who you are speaking to, what you do or study, one example that proves it with a detail only you would know, and the one thing you would like to happen next. Leave out your life story and any apology for the recording.

**Should a student introduction video mention grades?**

Only if the person asked, or if the grade is the point of the video, such as a scholarship application. Otherwise a project, a piece of coursework you can describe in a sentence, or a part-time job says more about how you work than a number does.

**Can I use the same introduction video for every application?**

You can, but it will sound like you did. Recording a fresh one takes two minutes once the script exists, and saying the viewer's name in the first line changes how the whole video lands. Keep the middle section the same and re-record the opening and closing for each person.

Related: https://hi.video/blog/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-a-video, https://hi.video/blog/how-long-should-an-intro-video-be, https://hi.video/blog/video-cover-letter-what-to-say