Video Resumes: OK Only If You're Ready To Push Your Chips "All In"

To Video Resume or not to Video Resume. That is the question. (At least today it is, right?)

With today’s growing convergence of social media and citizen journalism, one might suggest that the  video resume is a natural progression of sorts. Perhaps it is, but the purpose of this post isn’t to speculate on whether the video resume will ever really take off among the pragmatic market or not. It’s also not about the usual suspects we see so often surface in these discussions: legality, potentiality for discrimination, etc. Today,let’s turn the cube slightly and consider things from a market psychology perspective.

Ultimately, the insatiable appetite for ‘more and more technology’ in the HR and Talent Acquisition world has created a scenario where it’s difficult for a candidate to warrant any form of consideration for an open role. There is perhaps no other sector in the business world that has 'bought in' (hook, line, and sinker) that solutions can only be found through new technologies.

For example, most ATS’ and Sourcing Tools that scrub the major job boards are keyword-driven. If the candidate’s resume isn’t ATS or Sourcing Tool “optimized”, it winds up being sucked into the black-hole, never to be seen by an actual pair of human eyes. As Charles Darwin might say, applying through a job board or career site today is more about “Survival of the Keyword-ist”, as opposed to “Fittest”’ . . . which is quite ironic given how much conversation centers around the nebulous notion of ‘fit’ in the first place. It’s only logical that some candidate populations not be complacent in trolling job boards as their only method to identify new opportunities and market themselves.

However, if there is anything we learned from Aleksey Vayner “Impossible is Nothing” debacle, it’s that a pompous, self-promoting infomercial can be much more damaging than a terribly bland, paper-resume. Vayner’s video resume became so virally circulated and ridiculed on the Internet that the very notion of the video resume still sports a black eye to this day, two years later. Frankly, this isn’t fair . . . but as we all know, perception is reality when it comes to market dynamics.

Personally, my marketing side absolutely loves the allure of candidate differentiation – what better way to separate from the ‘pack’ (or moreover, pile) than to create a resume that actually stimulates more senses through audio and motion video than the usually vanilla 12-stock paper, right? However, my purely business side quickly counterbalances. Let’s face it: Video resumes are the real value proposition of ‘Career Consulting’ firms that charge candidates to ‘assist’ with their job search. So even when produced flawlessly, the video resume itself is associated with active job seekers who are not necessarily marketable enough to engage the ‘no-cost’ services of an Executive Recruiter. These savvy ‘Career Consulting’ or ‘Career Advancement’ firms employ the strategy of contacting everyone that places a resume on the large job boards – it’s a numbers game because there will always be candidates who are willing to pay for such ‘cutting-edge’ services without realizing the true perceptions and stigmas associated. As in other cases, information asymmetry benefits the seller instead of the buyer.  And yes,while there are many up-and-coming solutions that empower the candidate to personally create their own video resume, the same negative stigma and perception still exists.

Furthermore, consider yourself a simple question: Assuming you’re a rational-minded, strong producer who is currently gainfully employed, would you feel comfortable forwarding a video resume in the hopes you might ascertain an interview? Probably not. Would you allow someone other than yourself to forward on this video resume to people who may be several degrees away from the actual hiring manager? Probably not. Would you worry that you might wind up on YouTube, thereby potentially findable by your current employer (or who knows who else)? Probably yes. Unless a candidate is utterly decisive in the fact that they’re leaving their current position, they would be well-served to deeply consider the risk of going “All-in”, because that’s essentially what they’re doing once they circulate a video resume. Maybe they win a huge pot, but maybe they’re busted and go home broke - Risk aversion must be considered.

Now, if a candidate is to that point that they’re willing to push all their chips in, there are some "worst practices" we can glean by standing on the shoulders of Video Resume Giants that have come before us. With special thanks to Vayner and “IvyGate”, here is a list of 8 things NOT to include in the video resume:

A. Don't banter about your philosophies of what defines "success".
B. Don't include clips of yourself lifting weights in short shorts.
C. Don't show clips of yourself doing anything that might resemble X-Games stunts.
D. Don't say anything along the lines of "Ignore the Losers".  (Did I really have to mention this one?)
E. Don't include clips of yourself doing any form of dance moves (Whether ballroom or hip-hop, it's the wrong place).
F. Don't show clips of yourself executing any Martial Arts maneuvers, to include breaking bricks.
G. Don't put anything resembling the following after your name: "CEO and Professional Athlete".
H. Don't proclaim yourself as "A model of personal development and inspiration to those around you".

In the end, it’s important that candidates know what they’re getting into, that they understand the risk-reward equation, and that they keep it professional.  But hasn’t that always been the case?  As they say, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Comments

[Hayli @ RiseSmart]

Yes, I think it's important to understand that video resumes can be overdone, just like paper resumes can be overblown. Don't toot your own horn too much, keep it short and simple, don't turn it into a "motivational" speech, and focus on quantifiable achievements. Also, give it a day or two and then review it for a fresh perspective and seek the opinions of others who you know will be honest.

[Hayli @ Rise Smart]

Also, if you haven't already, check out Michael Cera's (Superbad, Juno) video resume parodying Aleksey Vayner's endeavor. It's good for a laugh, especially if you watch Vayner's first. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAV0sxwx9rY

[Josh Letourneau]

Hayli, great video :) It's up there under the "Ignore the losers" link, too. My favorite quote is:

"When I'm lifting weights, I'll start light . . . but by the time I'm leaving the gym, I'm lifting up to 4x MY BODY MASS. And by doing this, you grow as a person, as a human being, and as an investment for a company."

Don't get me wrong - I love to work out, but achieving the strength levels of a Silverback Gorilla has never been a goal of mine :)

[Lindsay Thompson]

While I agree that video resumes are a bit early in the adoption cycle because of some of the issues discussed, we shouldn’t disregard the importance of video as a tool. The one factor that will never leave the hiring process is face-to-face interviewing, and video interviewing is an area that really makes sense, especially in these days of cost-cutting and time-saving. Real-time web-based video interviewing is such a good way to see candidates earlier in the recruiting cycle without the extensive costs and time for that initial interview. It lets you evaluate things like their communication skills, personality, and energy to pare down your candidate list to the top picks for in-person interviews. GreenJobInterview.com provides real-time web-based video interviewing, not pre-recorded answers to canned questions, for only $49.99, so it enables a real conversation and streamlines the interview process.

[Mick Flurry]

If I were a woman, this is EXACTLY the kind of guy I'd go for!

[Katrina Kibben- VisualCV]

I agree with Lindsay. Video is a powerful tool but when it comes to the resume, video is most powerful in combination with aspects of the traditional resume (like work history or a well written summary) in a web-based resume.

There are definitely pros & cons to the idea of video or a web-based resume. While it can certainly make a candidate stand out from the pack or help a recruiter differentiate candidates with a client employer, there are questions around efficiency of searching (i.e. workload to review multimedia resumes), discrimination dangers, and ability to use these new web-based resumes with old legacy recruiting processes and systems.

For now, I'd recommend checking out VisualCV.com. This video versus paper has been an issue we've thought about and with a VisualCV you can have both- the multimedia benefits of video or other portfolio items to stand out as well as the content of your paper resume.

If you have any questions about VisualCV, feel free to check out my VisualCV at www.visualcv.com/katrinakibben (my contact information is there as well).