Career Articles - Video Resumes


by NANCY ANDERSON - Date: 2010-07-20 - Word Count: 496 Share This!

One of the latest fads in the job hunting world today is video resumes. Video resumes are exactly what the term suggests - your resume as told by you on camera. Sounds easy, doesn't it but think about. Most people who create a video resume simply just regurgitate their resume while looking into a camera. So, for the hiring manager, they get to see what you look like and how you sound. I guess that can be a good thing or it could be a really bad thing.

Have you ever been on camera? I don't mean clowning around on home videos, I mean professionally. It is definitely not as easy as it sounds. Not everyone is photogenic let alone able to actually come across professionally and sincerely on a video.

Even though it is the hottest technology in recruiting, most recruiters would prefer to judge a candidate based upon their actual resume instead of a candidate reading their resume on camera. Video resumes are usually too large to attach to an email so you would have to record it and then send the recording to the hiring manager or Human Resources. If it was small enough to attach, most recruiters will tell you that they just don't have time to view the videos. They can go through 30-45 paper resumes in an hour and quickly determine if the seeker is qualified for the position. However, with a video, they have to actually sit through an entire video to find out if the person is even qualified for the position.

But if you are determined to blaze the trail and send in a resume video, you need to do it right. Your video needs to be done professionally. You need to write up what you want to depict... not just read your resume. Explain to the hiring company why YOU should be the one that they hire. Make sure that your appearance is professional - the same as if you were going to an interview. Keep it relatively short. Some recruiters say to keep it to less than three minutes while others say it needs to be 5-10 minutes long so that you can list all of your qualifications. Treat it like a one-way interview. Tell them what you have to offer their company should you be hired.

While taping, be as relaxed as possible. Look at the camera but don't stare at it. Pretend that you are actually talking to someone. Practice ahead of time what you want to say and then memorize it and say it several times so that it comes across more natural. Introduce yourself and move on to your qualifications; briefly discuss quantifiable tasks you have performed and then end it by thanking for their consideration.

So, even though you are blazing a new technological trail, it would still be a good idea to send in a paper copy of your resume - just in case!

By: Nancy Anderson, SEO Analyst at www.beyond.com


Related Tags: technology, resume, video, paper

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