Video resumes will soon eliminate job interviews
October 30, 2007 at 2:49 am | In Career Development, Futures, Interview, Personal Branding | 5 Comments
The recruitment cycle is often so tedious, draining and time constraining for most companies. At fortune 500 companies, it may take months to screen, identify, filter, interview and accept a single candidate for a newly open position. A decade ago, after eliminating 80% of the applicants, companies would grant the remaining 20% a single interview. The applicant who interviewed the best, would claim the spot. Those days are over.
In the past few years, a single interview has quadrupled and now candidates are put to the test of meeting many people within a group, in order to be considered for a position. Whether you are a golden child or a commodity, you must participate in this exercise. The good news is that companies, as well as applicants now have a tool they can use. Video has been widely adopted by the media on a global scale. We can all thank YouTube for giving us a platform where we can broadcast our lives, both professionally and personally.
Supplements to traditional resumes
In a recent post, I pointed to LinkedIn as replacing the traditional resume. I was also one of the first to write an article about video resumes replacing the traditional resume months back. I’ve since pondered the idea of both a blog, LinkedIn resume and video resume as supplementing a traditional resume. I say this because most HR applicant systems, such as BrassRing require a standard format. For personal branding purposes, we must focus on how to differentiate and establish a clear value proposition. People consume information differently, and by delivering your message through different mediums, you can appeal to everyone. I do in fact see traditional resumes fading away in the future, as new database management systems emerge.
Wouldn’t it be spectacular if we could eliminate the interview process?
With video resumes, you are performing a self-interview and are able to pitch your personal brand and share it with the world. Why not sit in front of a video camera and explain why you are unique, your strengths, competencies, goals and interests in the course of a few minutes. One of the main benefits of video is that your entire brand can be viewed, including your personality and appearance. The more information you give to a recruiter the better, just like the more you give to a reporter, the easier their job is.
As a human resource representative, video resumes make your job easier. No longer do you have to pull in qualified candidates, force them to consume managements time, your time and the productivity of your company. A video resume is the perfect tool to get a glimpse of what an interview would be like from that candidate.
Why interview people for jobs, when you already have the resources in order to make a decision?
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As a candidate I can some value of video resumes, however I can see a several drawbacks as a recruiting manager. An interview is about ensuring that the role fits the person and the person fits the role. This requires interaction and questioning, so a one-way video stream cannot replace that. I admit that it could be a pre-selection tool, but its already time consuming enough skimming resumes when your busy with projects.
On the candidate side, there is also a risk that you might not pitch yourself correctly if you not had the opportunity to measure what the interviewer is really looking for.
I admit that it can be a handy tool to deliver a quick pitch on your personal brand, but I don’t see it ever managing to replace a written profile or an interactive interview session.
Comment by Arthur M. Gallagher — October 30, 2007 #
Cool..Video resumes…But that can also eliminate some interviews too.
Thanks,
http://www.free-resumes.org
Comment by Attorneys Forum — December 8, 2007 #
[...] not the same thing as a video resume. Some people really like video resumes, and even think that they will soon replace job interviews. We don’t think so. There are many good reasons why we still need job interviews, and [...]
Pingback by 7 differences between video resumes and video interviews | Career Video Expert Bullhorn — January 24, 2008 #
Arthur, I understand where you are coming from in analyzing video resumes. That is why at Interview on Demand, we recommend strongly against them. We have two products currently that can help immensely reduce the ‘grind’ that everyone has come to know as the ‘interview process.’
Video Interviews – we provide hiring companies with the opportunity to create a standardized set of questions for each open position. These questions are responded to by candidates in an unrehearsed manner. The answers can have time limits if the hiring manager wishes. Since the candidate has no prior knowledge of the question, it is truly a measure of the candidate’s ability to think on their feet and how much research they have done on the company, as well as a reflection of their knowledgebase and skillet.
Video Career Profiles – (launching today) are a product for third party recruiters to create an online career snapshot of candidates, including a video intro-view. Video intro-views are mini-interviews where a candidate/jobseeker can answer anticipated interview questions prior to connection with a company. The video intro-view, a career summary, and resume are all presented in a one page ‘career view.’ Also included can by a library of other documents such as references, published articles, assessment tests, or certifications.
Within the next couple of weeks we will release a product that is very similar, but it is intended for jobseekers who desire to build their own video career profiles and market themselves proactively. We strongly believe that video can be a part of the next revolution in hiring tools, and that we are building those tools at Interview on Demand.
Carl Chapman
COO – Interview on Demand, LLC
http://www.InterviewOnDemand.com
Comment by Video Interview Expert — February 13, 2008 #
[...] How much information can you really get from a stupid resume? Not much. I’ve written about video resumes a lot and believe in them, as long as you are passionate, energetic and have some showmanship. If [...]
Pingback by Personal Branding Toolkit - Part 3: Resumes « Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel — August 26, 2008 #