Are Video Resumes on You Tube (or other sources) the new trend for job seekers? Are they effective?
I recently tuned into You Tube and found "Video Resumes" of individuals seeking opportunities. Has anyone (Job Seeker, Recruiter, or Employer) received any benefits from using/viewing a Video Resume? Is the Resume changing over to Video? Would love to know your thoughts or comments!
Answers (15)
Brent H
Entrepreneur with 10+ years of experience in both Information Technology and Human Resources
As an applicant, I think anything that makes you stand out as a candidate is going to be to your benefit; however, as an employer you will probably have to prove a bona-fide job-related reason to require applicants to submit photos and/or videos as part of the hire process. Also, companies that choose to accept video resumes are likely to face the technical challenge of storing these media.
David H
Mechanical Project Engineer and host of Nashua After-Hours Networking
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (1)
No.
Speaking as a "pseudo-expert" in job searching (and the host of a networking group in southern New Hampshire), video resumes are not and will not catch on for several reasons (and a hat tip to www.asktheheadhunter.com for a recent article on this - but I can't find the link on his website specifically):
1. Resumes get flown through at the often-cited 30 seconds per; nobody's going to invest 5-10 minutes on a YouTube video.
2. This is the biggie: Because of age/sex/race concerns, nobody is going to expose themselves to discrimination suits. Sure, once you appear in person, they'll know; but videos open a huge can of worms exposing employers. They'll pass.
Now (and call me a prophet), I do believe that multimedia resumes might be the "wave of the future". Imagine a resume on-screen where each bullet point can open up into a one-page summary for further detail. Companies can still print the resume, but an interested hiring manager might then go on-line to peruse specific resumes further.
Well a video Resume is a good way to view a person's ability, his or her persona, speech, just think of it as a pre-interview. It is easier to lie on your paper resume, but face to face, that is serious incriminating evidence against you. So any form of resumes available is widely and should be widely accepted because recruitment is becoming a highly competitive market.
Steven B
● Financial Analysis & Management ● Boeing ● SunGard ● Lockheed Martin ● CIGNA ● "Mother Teresa of Network
Yes and No.
See myworkster.com
Links:
Not only are video resumes here to stay, but soon there will be video interviews, video references etc.. all done in real time like phone calls from devices as common as cell phones. To the point made earlier about the 30 second decions, that will fuel it all. More can be learned in a short video, than in a long resume. People will trust prepared self promoting written documents less and less over time. I predict the same for recruiting messaging as well. Candidates will want to see someone live vs a commercial. Real-Time Interaction will prevail as the greatest indicator of truth. And the speed of business will not wait for a physical meeting to be arranged.
Right now it depends on what you do for a living. There is vry little need for an accountant to put his resume in the form of a video.
However, if you have a tech background it is a subtle way to display your ability.
Will that change? Probably. However, as it stands right now. An employer would probably chuckle if they saw that the resume was video. I think it would also make them nervous to open it. It makes it easier to cry discrimination.
Atul S
VP - Operations
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (2), Job Search (1), Blogging (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Well, review of Video Resume will not catch up as it is expected for two simple reasons:
• It is easy for any recruiters to quickly go thru the (hard copy) resumes for detailed understanding of the experience, skill, domain expertise and the role/responsibility of an individual whether that matches the requirement, which takes a few mnts, THAN to asses the details thru Video Resume.
It requires lots of skill even for a candidate to detail the experience in précised manner which can cover projects handled and specific skills. Since it will consume lot of time, it might go un-noticed because of time crunch.
I agree with the views expressed by David Hunt that hardly any HR Professional/ Recruiter has time to go thru a time taking process “Watching Video Resume” candidates, where responding to requirements are always “time sensitive”.
In my opinion, as I view what could happen in future is that, use of this Technology eventually will emerge as final round of screening which will save time on “Face to Face interview”, resulting:
• Assessment of Communication, Personality , Presentation Skills
• Saving Time on Travel
• Achieving Quick Decision
• Hiring being competitive, this will expand the horizon for hiring Professionals from different part of the world where
Instead just viewing Video Resume
JL R
Office Manager at TW Layman Associates
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Asktheheadhunter.com's email newsletter just addressed this. The article is not on the website yet (at least I couldn't find it). The text lenght exceeds the limits here. I will email it to you directly if I can.
Clarification added October 25, 2007:
Please give me your email address if you would like me to email the article to you.
No. Video resumes will not succeed. Bioblogs will because they are radical enough visually to attract attention but still traditional enough to list the most important information. Resumes, as everyone must know by now (and if they don't they are way behind the curve) are simply bait: There's good bait and bad, but the best is the graphically enhanced, self-branding bioblog; it can be a pdf file that can be downloaded and printed, or it can be mailed with a letter. (Yes, people still do that and other people like it.)
Links:
Absolutely, but only in addition to the traditional resume. Most of the posts here indicate that recruiters simply don't have the time to listen to five minute presentations all day long - and with this I agree. I don't think that the print resume is in any danger of losing its status as the #1 application tool - a recruiter can burn through a pile of them in no time flat.
However, after having found a strong print resume, being able to view a videoclip to study the applicant's demeanor and communication skills is absolutely invaluable. In my niche, outstanding communication skills are crucial, and being able to ascertain a candidate's skill level in this area would be a truly significant advantage when sorting through possible resources.
Popular use of the video resume will be first adopted by candidates who wish to demonstrate their superior communication skills and attitudes – in order to differentiate themselves from all the "unknowns" in the recruiter's stack of resumes. Eventually, as the practice catches on, the less skilled will be forced to do the same –if only to avoid the appearance of tacitly admitting to having poor communication skills. Indeed, I can imagine a time in the near future where any print resume submitted without a link to a video resume will be regarded as suspect - i.e. "Why doesn't this person want me to see or hear them? What are they hiding?"
A print resume/video resume combo will become standard fare for all entry-level and mid-level candidates who are actively seeking employment. The practice will not be as strong in the upper echelons of management, as senior level candidates are often pursued (versus pursuing) and will have little need to differentiate themselves from others or "prove" their skills.
I'm not sure video resume's will succeed, but online resume's such as www.vision-resume.com will be the future. Also, it really depends on the industry. These would be great for models and people who have to show portfolio.
Links:
Joshua T also suggests these experts on this topic:
It seems that whether a video resume is effective or not would depend upon the criteria it is being measured against. If, for instance, interpersonal skills are a critical component of job performance for some particular position, and they can be measured via video, we've got something to go on. Unfortunately, I don't know of any strong data one way or another, demonstrating its effectiveness at predicting any particular piece of job performance.
What I do know is where an intelligent conversation on the topic can be found. I recently received an invitation for a webinar discussing this very same topic. I'm not a sponsor of the event, but I've provided the link to a description (as well as the option to sign up) of the event to take place on Nov. 15.
Links:
Joseph W
Quantitative Finance Research / Astrophysics
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No. It's hard to scan through a video the way you can scan through text.
I do not have a video resume yet and I want a video profile for my business. I also want people to see who I am as a person and not just what I look like on paper. I believe I am much more valuable as my resume would suggest and I do not have the pedigree that human resource people, companies and some clients might typically look for. Video resume's and profiles will be standard for all industries in the future.
The phone and video and The PC will be merged in a more advanced version and will change how business is done forever. VPN now allows employers to hire employees and consultants without having the high costs of carrying too much office space. For instance, take a look at ZipRealty. Their overhead for office space and staff costs are not near as much as the traditional real estate companies that have to have 100's of offices and staff in each state. All of the agents @ ZipRealty work from home and work over the internet and all the connections that the company makes with it's clients are through the internet. ZipRealty's sales are in the billions and growing all the time. The internet is so exciting right now with all of the new changes that happen everyday.
A video resume will make or break a decision to interview a person. The video resume will save companies a lot of time and resources on phone interviews, head hunters and recruiters. I believe video interviews will be adopted in the short term because of the global marketplace for talent and the top companies want to get to the best people first.
I sort of equate recruiting and video interviewing like the sales industry. Whomever gets to the client the fastest may ultimately get the sale or the employee.
The web 2.0 movement is here and is growing at a clip. That is why the tech sector is having a boom again because after the tech bubble of 2000 happened people could not see the whole future impact that the internet would have on our society. The housing market heated up and people took their money out of tech. The tech sector got crushed and the larger companies got bigger while the smaller companies got gobbled up at a great discount.
Now the tech boom is back and the housing market is weak. Look at Yahoo, IAC, Google, Apple, Rimm, Amazon, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, AT&T, Nws and the rest of the tech sector. They all have tremendous activity and this is all because the internet and communication are now starting to do what it was meant to do and that is speed up the flow of business, communication and entertainment.
Video Resumes are just one little part of the web 2.0 revolution
and Career builder, Monster, Hotjobs and Linkedin will all adopt the use and subsequent requirement of video resumes and profiles.
Please let em know what your thought are? This is only my opinion.
Jeff Bowen
Links:
Since it's referenced in a few of the answers on this thread, here's the recent Ask The Headhunter newsletter about video resumes:
http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/newsletter/OE20071023.htm
Not ready for prime time -- that is, the 30 seconds or so a recruiter or manager devotes to input from a candidate. The most interesting take on this is from a manager who wrote me in response to this article. His comments are lengthy; they'll be in the Oct 30, 2007 edition. (Which you can get in a free subscription -- http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/subscribe1.htm or use the Subscribe link in the online edition of the newsletter referenced above.)
Cheers,
Nick Corcodilos
asktheheadhunter.com
