What The World Says About Video Resumes

Video resumes originated as an informative supplement to a candidate’s text resume. However, today video resumes have become an integral part of candidate screening processes in most of the career fields.

There is no doubt that video resumes can bring significant benefits to a hiring institution or an employer. Worldwide, employers and HR experts have hailed the practice of using video resumes for recruitment purposes.

A survey conducted by HR Magazine as early in 2007 found that majority of companies are “very interested” in viewing the video profile of the candidates. One third of the survey participants also said video resumes would become a valuable tool in assessing the job applicants.

With the growing popularity of video applications on social networking communities like YouTube and Facebook, candidates are not able to resist the temptation of getting an “online persona” in the form of a professional video. The method has its benefits too. As the candidates gain “real visibility” among prospective employees, there are better chances of winning.

According to Desma O, a job placement specialist at Community Action Program, video resumes can work, but they are not effective for everyone. “If you have before and after photos, or can state career facts that are quantifiable and measurable, you have the best chance at success.”

Video resumes, according to experts, can supplement the text resume well. It gives an authentic presentation of the facts narrated in the resume. Video resumes can, to a great extent, present the personal traits of a candidate like communication skills, politeness, confidence and mannerisms.

Abdul R, a writer, thinker and motivational speaker at Bahrain, says video resumes can be an excellent format to showcase job experience as well as your polished communication skills if utilized properly.

“As long as you understand the company’s resume submission policies and ensure that your video is professional and posted in a venue a potential employer may frequent, it'll surely increase your chances,” Abdul says.

As Abdul said, it is important to prepare the video in a professional manner and get it posted on a potential site where it has a chance to get viewed. It’s not easy to get a video resumes lifted through highly crowded applications like YouTube and Facebook. A video resume service can be of great help in this regard.

Video resume services target potential candidates like graduates for whom the first appearance becomes crucial in a job interview. As they are fresh entrants in their dream career, they need to showcase their skills and achievements in an impressive manner. A professional video resume will, in effect, demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate in the field which he/she wants to pursue. This is a great advantage to both recruiters and candidates as it supports the facts mentioned in the text resume.

Koozba.com, a job portal dedicated for fresh graduates, offers video resume services to candidates. As a member of Koozba community, a candidate gets his/her professional video resume created and displayed to hundreds of recruiters from India and abroad.

  

Follow our next article in the series: “Weighing the Two Sides of Video Resumes ”