Video Resumes - Do They Ruin Your Chance of A Real Interview
More and more people are choosing to ‘sell’ themselves using the Internet. It is not just posting resumes online that has taken off in a big way, however. Now we have the video resume, and increasing numbers of jobseekers are putting themselves in front of the camera in the hope of attracting the attention of potential employers.
Although they have been around for a few years now, video resumes have only more recently begun to catch on, with not only existing job sites offering the chance to upload your own personal commercial, but also a number of dedicated sites. CareerBuilder.com, Meet Your New Employee.com, vault.com, SlideShare.com and ResumeTube.com are just a few of the places where you can put yourself out there for the world, and employers, to see.
While some jobseekers have used the likes of SlideShare to simply upload a Powerpoint slide of their resume, others have reached for their video camera or webcam and gone into full film production. But do video resumes work, and are they a good thing?
Perhaps the first thing to note is that many employers appear to be open to the idea of watching video resumes, although those who have watched them have found many to be less than award-winning productions, which I guess raises the first issue:
Not everyone is a born actor/actress
Perhaps if you are a ‘natural’ AND you adhere to the same guidelines that apply to traditional resumes, a video resume might just work in your favor. With usually anywhere between about two and five minutes to get your message across, if you have a great script and a natural delivery, you have the potential to make a real impression. Two to five minutes of watching a candidate who is clearly uncomfortable in front of a camera and who persists in giving out a long list of tasks that he/she has performed, or who is detailing his/her personal interests and hobbies, and any employer is going to be suitably unimpressed.
The second issue with video resumes has to do with prejudice and discrimination.
Abhorrent as it is, if your visual appearance is unappealing, you may just have shot yourself in the foot
The accepted view on sending a photograph with your resume is DON’T. The accepted view on revealing your age, race or ethnicity, weight or height in your resume is DON’T. Not only are these things entirely irrelevant to your ability to do a job well, but they also provide unscrupulous employers with the chance to discriminate against you unfairly. Okay, you could argue that these same employers will make the same judgments as soon as you walk through the door of the interview room, but at least you will have had the opportunity to sell your skills and achievements ahead of time, and at least you get the chance to benefit from the experience of the interview. If a prospective employer just does not like the look of you from your video resume, you are not even going to get that far.
Perhaps my biggest concern with the video alternative, however, relates to the basic premise of a resume.
Why bother to call you for interview when the employer’s curiosity is already satisfied?
You will have heard a thousand times that the whole purpose of a resume is to get you an interview. A resume should focus on all your best skills and qualities and achievements and entice an employer to meet with you in person so that you can expand on these things by answering, and asking, a series of questions. Focus on the wrong things in a video resume, however, and you may never have the chance to redeem yourself. In some ways, a video resume is like a one-sided interview – but it only answers some of the questions that the employer might have in his mind. If he does not like what he sees in your video, you not only miss out on the interview experience, but also the face-to-face opportunity to demonstrate the value that you can bring to his company by addressing his questions. No matter how good the camera or how well-prepared the script, there is absolutely no substitute for meeting a candidate in the flesh.
Having sounded as though I have just given video resumes a right royal slating, there is, however, no denying the need to move with the times. Like every other marketing tool in the book, if done well and used correctly, I have no doubt that they can be extremely effective. To achieve this though, takes superlative performance and the ability of the applicant to really portray his/her personality. It does though, take a mighty leap of faith to make yourself so very visible without having the opportunity to read and counter the reactions, both verbal and non-verbal, of your ‘interviewer’.
Although they are increasing in popularity amongst jobseekers, there is precious little information available on how effective video resumes are. If you have any experience, either as an employer or an applicant, of using this medium, I would love to hear your comments.
Todd Bavol is committed to providing people quick access to job search and career information. Over 20 years of experience in the HR and Career Coaching field has given him a vast amount of information and resources to share with the readers. The natural curiosity and desire to be on the leading edge of everyhting, brings value to you as a blog participant.
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