The introduction of the video resume has added an entirely new approach to career management. Although, many recruiters and hiring managers beli...
The introduction of the video resume has added an entirely new approach to career management. Although, many recruiters and hiring managers believe the video resume will be beneficial, there are others who say they don’t want to spend time watching videos. But, needless to say while this argument is going on, video resumes (or what we refer to as Video Introductions) are gaining headway. As a brief conversation piece added to your online career portfolio, the video resume is not only a great ‘icebreaker’ but , is also helping people stand out from the pack, promote their personal brand and provide employers with that ‘gut feel’ about personality and organizational fit.
Done properly, a Video Introduction will help candidates market themselves by pointing out strengths, attributes, deliverables and behaviors in a way that is impossible for a paper resume to reveal. The Video Introduction provides a broader – more 3 dimensional view – of the candidate, so that employers get a quick, full picture of who the candidate is and how they may add to the organization.
“Once viewed you are
already a familiar face…”
What’s so good about that? Well, think about it for a moment. The Video Introduction allows an employer to get a feel for you – a bit of a test drive, if you will. Once viewed you are already a familiar face when you head in for the interview. This can cut the initial tension immensely. There are no surprises; they’ve already seen you. If they’ve called you in for the interview there has already been an initial determination around your viable fit within the organization. This makes it much easier for the match up to continue through the interview stages.
Secondly, you will have a more secure feeling heading into the interview since your Video Introduction has broken the ice. You know this is not going to be a 20-minute courtesy interview – at least on visual accounts. Sure, you may blow it conversationally, but your Video Introduction has cleared part of the path for you. If the employer views your Video Introduction and decides not to bring you in for the interview, that’s fine too – why waste your time? Without the Video Introduction the employer may bring you in and decide in the first two minutes that they are just going to give you a courtesy interview – and let’s face it, your time is valuable.
The Video Introduction is really a cool new tool in the career marketplace. The benefits certainly seem to outweigh the negative connotations that are thrown into the discussion around them. With proper standards put in place candidates will know what employers/recruiters are expecting to see in Video Introductions and can then produce quality content that will put employers at ease around issue of viewing the videos.
Those of you who do not like the idea of the Video Resume – well you know what the old saying is “know your enemy”. At FiredUP Careers we believe that the Video Resume will become a standard part of an individual’s career portfolio in the future. It won’t be long before you hear the employer not only asking you to send in your paper resume, but to also attach your Video Introduction. Hiring managers will want to know if their recruiters/HR team have viewed the video and if not, why not? In other words, it will become the norm and not having one will be like not having a paper resume.
