Why Recruiting Firms Should Have Video Resume Capabilities
By: Debra Wheatman
Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is president of Careers Done Write, a premier career-services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries. Debra may be contacted directly at debra@careersdonewrite.com. Visit her site at: careersdonewrite.com. Follow Debra on Twitter.
Video resumes are the future. The ubiquity of quality video cameras in the palm of everyone’s hand (assuming they own a modern smart phone) has eliminated nearly all barriers to entry for a job seeker to create a compelling video-based resume. Video resumes submitted by job candidates can eliminate the extra time recruiting firms or staffing agencies need to sift through candidate profiles leading to greater odds of successfully placing a candidate. Below are a few pros and cons about video resume submission and the primary reason to invest in a video resume submission platform.
- Pro: See the candidate’s experience.
Video resumes can give a recruiter a clear view of what the candidate is like in person. How the candidate presents himself can offer clues on how they will perform in an actual interview. Traditional, paper-only resumes can only go so far in learning about a job seeker while video resumes can fill in the gaps. - Con: Candidate too perfect?
The risk of a video resume is that the candidate can come across as too perfect, too staged, and too well-prepared, meaning that in a live interview scenario, they are not as composed, energetic, and enthusiastic as a well-produced video resume can make them appear. - Pro: It can be a time saver.
With a video resume, a staffing agency can potentially identify the actual traits that will lead to a candidate landing a job – the ability to perform under pressure, sell themselves, and interact well with a potential employer. - Con: Large video files, long download time.
If a staffing agency executive has a stack of paper resumes vs. video resumes that need to be downloaded, perhaps the video resume option won’t be reviewed. However, with increasing internet speeds becoming more and more common even in areas like airports, this drawback is becoming less and less relevant. - Overall recommendation –
video resumes are here to stay. It behooves a staffing company that wants to find great and high potential candidates quickly, and if it added a video submission option to attract more people, it could be a competitive advantage.
