Not the biggest fan of video resumes, LinkedIn on the other hand

I'm not the biggest fan of video resumes. While it's becoming super-easy to create, publish and share video online, I just don't think video resumes will ever take off. Video may one day be a great compliment to a persons resume but it will never replace it. LinkedIn. Thats another story.

Video resumes are too scary for employers concerned with ofccp regulation and eeoc. Watching a video is an inefficient means for gathering information. It can take over 3 minutes for a recruiter to get the information he/she needs from a video resume. Video resumes throw too big of a kink in the recruiting process to ever make an impact.

They aren't making anything better for the candidate either.  I have yet to see one video resume that compliments the candidates job search. Too often the candidate does a poor job on communicating what he/she brings to the table, is less attractive, less funny and more awkward than he/she thinks. A company called Cynopsis Media may disagree.

Linkedin on the other hand is much more likely to replace the standard resume. In fact, you can already see the word 'LinkedIn' becoming synonymous with resumes like 'Google' has with Internet search.

I recently overhead heard a girl on the street in nyc talking to a friend. She mentioned that she had sent the recruiter her, 'LinkedIn.' She never said the word, 'resume.'

Comments

[Kerry]

I agree - I have been trying like crazy to get people I know to create a LinkedIn profile and keep it updated. This coming from someone who at first just didn't get the value of it at all. Now I get it.

[SILVIUS]

Actually, it's time for a resume 2.0; which LinkedIn might start to be.

[Peggy McKee]

Like you, I think LinkedIn is invaluable and not just for the recruiting arena. And I agree that video resumes will not replace resumes. But video will become very important in the hiring process as it can reduce very real costs in the interview process and make management time much more productive. Recorded video job interviews, live video interviews and video that brands employers are only just now starting to be seen....the trend will grow. Not because I want it to, but because of the value it adds to the process. For example, a Fortune 100 company flys a candidate from San Fran to NJ - $650 plane ticket. The manager said that had he seen the candidate in a video interview, he could have saved the company >$600 and three hours of wasted time in the obligatory interview!

[chris]

We have just started a video resume website where you can upload your own or use a youtube embed tag.

www.YouInterviewMe.com

The great thing about a video resume it's only part of the process, but indeed the last pass you do before bringing someone in is look at their personality.
Most hiring managers hire on personality as much if not more than someones paper resume.

[GnarleyDog.Com]

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[Glenn]

The bad thing about resumes in general, video or otherwise, is they're terrible documents to market yourself. They only speak about "what you have done." We really need to produce works that show an employer "what you can do."

Otherwise it's just the blind leading the blind, especially when you realize that many employers don't know what they're looking for. That's why they wrongly believe what you've done before is what you're best at. Hogwash, the very reason some candidates change jobs is because they've learned something new and want to continue learning and PRODUCING!

Now if you're going to use a video to give a demonstration of how you'd actually do the job once hired, you're talking real camera, lights, action!

[Glenn]

One more thing . . .

It's amazing how my fellow hiring managers complain that fewer and fewer job candidates of today seem authentic. Resumes contain some form of lies, from falsifying college degrees to claiming more than one's fair share of a project. Web sites galore tell them how to pass interviews, what to wear, mastering the latest techniques especially the behavioral.

Job hunting in general tends to paint candidates better than they really are. You get coaching on removing gaps. You're told to transform every weakness into a strength. You never speak bad of a former supervisor.

An overly slick video resume can make bosses say, "Nobody's that good!" It can backfire big time, worse than a late-night infomercial. We really hate dealing with polished candidates.

[Pauline]

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