Will Video Resumes Ever Take Off?
Video resumes certainly generate a fair amount of buzz. Lots of people are talking about them.
Meridith Levinson recently wrote a comprehensive piece: Video Resumes: The Pros and Cons for Job Seekers. She’s covering all the bases — the value of standing out and differentiating yourself, but also the fear of looking bad, production quality, or discrimination from hiring managers.
Video is a great tool for communication.
But where it plays out in the recruiting process for job seekers remains uncertain. I think it has a place - most likely for specific jobs where a visual presence is critical. For example, I can see a company looking for a salesperson asking for a video resume where the candidate gives a 30-second simulated sales pitch. Could be a unique way to get a feel for the person’s presentation and sales skills.
CareerBuilder added video resume functionality recently and so far the results have been fairly good, with over 1,000 video resumes being uploaded.
Ryan Healy thinks video resumes are a fad. If that’s the case a lot of companies are in trouble because they’re invested a great deal of time and energy in the space.
Standout Jobs doesn’t focus on candidate videos or video resumes. We’re flipping that around and asking companies to do more in their efforts to pitch candidates. Companies don’t do enough to show off their culture, team, environment, etc. Video is one great way of doing that.
The fact that companies are turning to video to essentially create commercials directed at job seekers that say ‘See why you should come work for us!’ is a real sign of the times. I think it demonstrates just how competitive the labor market has become, especially for qualified IT professionals. Why else would companies go to such length? What does anyone else think?
[…] Standoutjobs.com blog asked the question, will video resumes ever take off? Personally, we think that in 5 years you’re going to be required to show yourself on video for most jobs if you want to get hired. Video resumes certainly generate a fair amount of buzz. Lots of people are talking about them. […]