Bells & Whistles » It’s a Wrap. You’re Hired!

It’s a Wrap. You’re Hired!

Author: Amitai Givertz
Posted: February 22, 2007
Category: Recruiting, Tools and Resources
Tags: Internet Media, Media, Recruiting 2.0, Recruitment Communications, Sourcing Strategy
Comments:

TIME Magazine posts an article on video resumes, It’s a Wrap. You’re Hired! The piece is written by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen and examines yet another new recruiting tool, one that remains unproven as regards its potential value and possible widespread adoption.

I guess when employers start hooking up their applicant tracking systems to TiVo – unlikely I think – or Monster start squishing upstarts like vidolio and VidRez.com on their way to emulating YouTube, we will have already moved on to offshoring recruiting to some fantasy cyberland. Yeah, right…as if.

The early and growing success of recruitment videos that target a demographically exact audience – and there are many examples to pick from: try Google or Electronic Arts; the CIA; Comcast; GMAC; the LAPD; and even one-offs for specific jobs – does not necessarily mean video resumes will be as widely accepted by employers in return. After all, institutionalized HR and recruiting are not always as net-savvy as the under 30-something crowd.

Anyway, that’s my take. What do you think?

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Comment by Amitai Givertz, March 3, 2007 at 6:14 pm

Raghav Singh posts an interesting take on the legal ramifications that video resumes might create over on ERE, Time to Hit Pause on Video Resumes.

Among the many good points in his analysis, Raghav concludes:

Frankly, these [video resumes] exist because the technology allows them to be created easily, not because they represent some great innovation or add anything to improve recruiting. Recruiting processes are designed to include highly structured elements to ensure consistency. Video resumes are, for now, at odds with the requirements of structured processes.

A really good read.
Comment by Amitai Givertz, March 9, 2007 at 9:43 pm

Another point of view: Why Video Resumes Aren’t Such a Great Idea posted on Tales from the Digital Side:

How are you going to keep video resume submissions off of YouTube? Obviously with this format, there are going to be some hilarious videos. Someone is going to post them to YouTube. Is your company going to be responsible for breaking promises to keep candidate information confidential? How will that affect your employer brand?
Comment by Amitai Givertz, March 21, 2007 at 12:06 am

Dave Lefkow wades in with an alternative point of view on ERE with Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Video Resumes:

The digital world we live in is like the Wild West: hard to live in at times and even harder to regulate. With social networks, personal blogs, and now video resumes, we’re reaching a level of transparency that a lot of people may be uncomfortable with.

But all of these phenomena are here to stay. It’s how we use them that will make a real difference on whether they positively or negatively impact the recruiting industry.

Some good points, succinctly put.

Raghav Singh has a change of heart in his second take also on ERE, Video Resumes Revisited:

Recently, I wrote about video resumes and their somewhat dubious value to recruiters. But a recent conversation with John Sumser has prompted me to expand on what I wrote, since maybe video resumes need a second look.

Whatever.
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 5, 2007 at 7:34 am

Hey! Scott - this one’s for you!

Jason Whitman who writes the Brand Love Hate blog is adding to his collection of video resumes. Take a look…
Comment by Amitai Givertz, April 18, 2007 at 10:28 am

Hey! Brett - this one’s for you so that you don’t feel left out

Here is a link to an updated Google search on video resumes and stuff so that you can stay current on this topic: http://tinyurl.com/2fsarq

Readers: Brett and Scott are our Performance Staffing Seminar leaders and sometimes use this page in their presentations. Feel free to use it in the exact same way!