Recently The New York Times published a piece called Your Career: Video Resumes Get More Popular about the fast growing popularity of video resumes with job seekers who are trying to differentiate themselves in a crowded space. This article seemed to follow quick on the heels of the Hire Me video where a recent college grad sang a song to employers explaining his background and asking for a job. After the video resume article came out, I noticed a number of people using Twitter to spread the message about video resumes gaining more popularity…and this is how bad advice, urban legends, and other nonsense gets transferred from person to person these days.
If you think that video resumes are a better alternative to traditional resumes, think again. These days everyone wants their information fast. Everyone needs to be a master scanner just to keep up with the incredible amount of information that is put in front of them each day. Think about how you use LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. You aren’t reading every post, clicking on every link, or viewing every video or podcast the community posts. You are scanning the information, looking for the golden nuggets and ignoring everything else.
This is how resumes are reviewed. No one is reading them. They are giving them a quick glance and/or using applicant tracking systems to slice and dice your data and determine a match between your candidacy and their open job. Hiring managers are looking for keywords and impact verified by strong metrics…the facts ma’am…just the facts. So in today’s fast paced world, why would anyone want to look at a video resume…or video resumes from 500 applicants? Currently there is no real way to parse the information and no one is going to take the time to view the video or even fast forward through it.
On top of this, there are many other landmines associated with video resumes…Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers has a great post on this topic here.
I’m not saying that video and other rich media has no place in your job search campaign. Very brief presentations that deliver a message of value can be created through tools like Visual CV, a personal website or blog, or a presentation on Slideshare that is linked to your LinkedIn profile. But use these tools as an additional way to support your candidacy after the hiring authority has reviewed your resume or a follow up strategy to complement a first interview rather than your initial strategy for getting the hiring manager’s attention.
good post. not a bad idea to supplement your profile with a video resume, but as a director of HR, i would never have time to watch videos as an initial screening. i barely have time to review all of the the person’s resume. this could also lead to some unwanted litigation and who needs that? in the case of video resumes, I wonder if the EEOC considers such video as proof that they are indeed applicants? Another good reason to stick to what’s on paper initially until the candidate is of any interest to you.
Job Seekers: Heed this advice from my colleague Barbara and hold that camera (or use but with appropriate expectations)! Great piece Barbara!
Barbara, great points. So many of us see video resumes in a similar light. Here is an article I recently published (with your article referenced) on the topic: http://www.examiner.com/x-20512-NY-Resumes-Examiner~y2009m8d29-Should-you-have-a-video-resume
I wonder if and how video resumes will ever be effectively integrated into one’s search tools.
Thanks for your comments Kathy, Ilona, and Kimberly. I love technology, but it doesn’t make sense in every situation.
I have trouble watching TiVO so I don’t know how I would ever get past more than five minutes of some rambling monologue. Like the people that built sites to ‘get my husband hired’ – the ‘video resume’ folks seem to get a lot of media attention (because they are new and different) without any real substance behind it.* Who has been hired using a video resume? What industries/roles are they more relevant for, what are the downsides (because, like others, I see many, many downsides).
For most jobs there seem to be an over abundance of qualified candidates to HR’s role is mostly to eliminate candidates (screen out). Watching video takes time – why on earth would I do that when I can quickly go through 5 more resumes?
*The two sites that got national attention (even landing on network news) did not result in either person getting a job, despite massive media exposure.
Will,
Right…different doesn’t always equal better. Thanks for commenting.
All true!
And my hair looks funny today anyway!
🙂
Ivan-Too funny. Thanks for commenting.