Video résumés offer a new tool to get your foot in the door with a growing number of employers today. But are they an advantage for you, the job seeker? They create a new wrinkle in the job search process because they offer both timesavings and a new dimension to candidate evaluation for employers and recruiters.
Also called "visum??s", it remains to be seen whether this new format will take off with actual employers and recruiters, or fall flat on its face. Some informal studies claim that well over 80 percent of respondents replied that they would definitely look at a video résumé if given the opportunity. And why not? Given a low risk on the part of the employer, it's easy to see how this unique format can add a new perspective to an old face - the paper résumé.
For some time now, early adapting job seekers have been posting their videos directly to Web 2.0 sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Now, they are hitting the mainstream. Many of the major job and career sites are offering video résumé hosting, and several new companies are dedicated solely to hosting both employers' and job seekers' videos. In most cases, employers shoulder the costs, and the service is free to candidates.
Are video résumés worth all this fuss? Considering the huge dollar investments supporting this new technology by so many corporations, it may be worth considering on that factor alone. This wouldn't happen unless there were profit and potential timesavings for the job search sites and the employers. Although some dissenting voices have been raised within the industry, most notably around possible discrimination concerns, the acceptance has been mostly positive so far.
Here is the way it works: As a candidate, you are typically allowed from one to three separate video uploads to these sites, in addition to uploading your conventional résumé. You can then link your video to your full bio including your "real" résumé. Employers then can perform the usual keyword search and then view the resulting videos before looking at the résumés. For the candidates they wish to learn more about, it's an easy click to their full bio.
If you are thinking about creating a visum?? of your own, your main advantage will be increased exposure. Employers will be more likely to view a short 1-2 minute clip rather than paw through hundreds of paper résumés that all start to look and read the same. Also, it opens up a new element, visual, that can play to your advantage. The downside is that you can appear unprepared, or even downright foolish. Last fall a Yale graduate sent his video to a major Wall Street investment firm and later found his video posted on YouTube, mocked throughout the Internet for its preposterous, bragging style.
Although all that's required to record your own video is either a Web cam, video recorder or digital camera, it helps to know what you're doing. Contrary to its name, a video résumé is not your résumé on video. It's actually a short promo enticing the employer to take a look at your "real" résumé online. Think of it as a short trailer for a new movie. It has all the action elements necessary to entice you to see the movie itself. Same with your video. It should be brief and to the point.
There is a certain amount of free advice available, but you may wish to invest in some education to guide you through the scripting and recording process. Some individuals in higher-level executive positions are hiring producers who charge up to $3500 for a professionally produced video. Most candidates won't need such a production but some forethought in planning and scripting would be well advised. This is a new technology and it's still in the infant stage. No doubt, it will evolve considerably in the coming years.
Time will tell how widespread this acceptance might be within the industry. At this point though, the added exposure you may receive could be reason enough to add a video résumé to your job search approach. The major caveat is to educate yourself to produce as high a quality product as you can. Remember, your video may easily be viewed by thousands of people across the world. So put your "best face" forward.
As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 16 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their career. Discover more video résumé and interview secrets by visiting www.jobchangesecrets.com/Video_Resume.html.
Copyright 2007 CareerBuilder.com.
