Video Resumes

Submitted by Adam Bob
in
Hiring
[quote] Morgan Stanley and seven other top-brands--Gap, The Hollywood Reporter, NFL, People, Sony Playstation, NBC and Sony--have been accepting video resumes this month. http://www.forbes.com/leadership/careers/2006/11/21/leadership-careers-jobs-lead-careers-cx_ll_1121videoresume.html [/quote] While the idea is an online contest sponsored by Sony Pictures could it be a sign of things to come?
Submitted by Wendii Lord on Monday November 27th, 2006 1:55 pm

Um, call me an old fuddy duddy, but the only things I learnt about these people is how well they read to camera. Great if they want to be newsreaders.. not so great for the engineers, accountants, or the consultants I need to recruit.

Bah!

Wendii

Submitted by Adam Bob on Monday November 27th, 2006 2:20 pm

I guess there is always the risk then of ending up like Aleksey Vaynerot, right or wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksey_Vaynerot

EDIT: The wikipedia link I originally posted seems to have been removed and my spelling of the males name is questionable. (It differs source to source)

Submitted by Ryan Humphreys on Monday November 27th, 2006 4:04 pm

Interesting concept. I can see it becoming a viable format for a CV/Resume.

*Looks for video camera* ;)

Submitted by Mark Horstman on Monday November 27th, 2006 11:41 pm

This is an EXCEPTIONALLY bad idea. I urge you to avoid it at all costs.

Simply because some companies ACCEPT them doesn't mean one would do well to SEND one.

Worst idea of the year.

Don't.

Mark

Submitted by Paul Neuhardt on Tuesday November 28th, 2006 12:59 am

Gee, and here I remember helping my father edit a video resume once when I was a kid. Okay, it was film back then and not tape. In either case, he was a TV weatherman auditioning for a job as a news reporter. He got the job, and it was with a "video" resume. Now, having said that, two points need to be made:

1. He had a paper resume as well. The "on camera" audition was required, asked for by the prospective employer and directly related to the position being filled. It was in addition to the resume, and not a replacement for it. In all his jobs since, he has never had a video resume including for on-air positions. He did the one only because it was specifically required as part of his application.

2. I have been a hiring manager (not in television) off and on for 22 years. I have worked in academia, retail, wholesale, high-tech, professional services, medical and insurance during that time. I have never nor do I expect to ever receive a video resume. I can't imagine looking at one or being favorably impressed if I did receive it, even if others in my company did solicit or accept them.

I agree totally with Mark: Just say no.

Paul

Submitted by Kevin Cross on Friday August 22nd, 2014 7:33 pm

I realize this is a very old post but I think Mark probably has excellent reasoning for his recommendation and I'm interested in finding out that reasoning.
I agree with Mark that just because I can does not mean I should. That being said, I think it would be an absolute advantage to the person who made the best video resume.
I'm curious to why Mark says not to do a video resume? I think it's possible that Mark is saying not to do it because most people are bad at that sort of thing and shouldn't go out of their way to make a video that would perform worse than a printed resume.
What would Mark say about someone who has exceptional skills producing video content and is confident they would produce a notably good video highlighting one or two of the most significant accomplishments on their resume?

Submitted by Mark McMillan on Saturday August 23rd, 2014 3:48 pm

UNPRO, I've got one word for why a video resume will fail:  TIME.
If you think hiring managers are going to sit down and watch your little short film instead of scanning a one page document, you're kidding yourself.
There are exceptions - professions where that happens (and they're all in media production) - but otherwise, you're just making a hiring manager work harder and they are unlikely to do that for you unless they think you're already awesome.
Also - why are you introducing more uncontrollable variables into the hiring equation?    Most people can't handle putting together a tight one page word document - that's just text.   When I think of all the things that can go "wrong" in the video production process - all the things that can put people off when watching video - well, why would you introduce more opportunities for a manager to say "No thanks"?
Stick with Wendy & Mark's original guidance.