DO VIDEO RÉSUMÉS REALLY WORK?
Our research of Video Résumés revealed some interesting and perplexing questions:
- How can I effectively convey all my skills and experience through a Video Résumé? And even if I could, how is a prospective employer supposed to remember everything I'm telling them? As humans, we retain a very small percentage of what we hear. Besides, some people can read much quicker than they can listen.
- What if they don't like my face?
- How will I hold their full attention when there are so many other things, like ads on the page, drawing their attention away from me?
- What if I send prospective employers a copy of my Video Résumé by email and their firewall or security system strips it out or deletes the email completely?
- What guarantee do I have that the hundreds of dollars I spend on having a Video Résumé created, that I will in fact land that perfect job?
Okay, so you've just given up hope that you will ever get the edge over your competitors. Well don't despair just yet. There is a flip side to the above negative aspects of Video Résumés. Let's look at them:
- A Video Résumé is not supposed to replace your text résumé! It is supposed to compliment it! A Video Résumé is a way of introducing yourself to a prospective employer virtually, in a controlled environment. No more sweaty palms and heart pounding which we all experience when meeting a prospective employer for the first time. With a Video Résumé, you are in control of the first meeting and therefore the first impression you make on that employer!
This particular aspect became very apparent to me when I sent my Video Résumé to Staff Quest Placement Group Inc. in Nanaimo, British Columbia. I received a phone call from the President of the company that same day, asking me to come in for an interview! Do you know the first words she said to me when I walked into their offices? Melodi Woods (the president) shook my hand and said "Laureen! I feel like I already know you!" WOW!!! How's that for creating a great impression? You can see Melodi's comments on our main page in the "Rave Reviews" section, which I have reprinted with her permission.
Did I lay out all my skills and qualifications? No! In fact, in a moment I will give you a link to the EXACT web page I sent to her, so you can see what my simple Video Résumé looked like. So what did Melodi remember? What impressed her? It was the ease and speed with which she could assess me even before she knew my qualifications... which brings us to the next negative aspect of Video Résumés...
- What if she didn't like something about my face? I have to be honest with you here - if Melodi refused to contact me because of any prejudice she may personally have, then she wouldn't be the professional that indeed she is - and I certainly wouldn't want to work for somebody who carried prejudices that interfere with their professionalism. Would you? If a company is worth working for, they will appreciate the fact that you are not trying to hide anything from them!
Another thing to consider is that if a prospective employer is in fact looking for a "certain type" of employee and you don't fit their requirements, then you've just saved everyone a whole lot of time and emotional stress by introducing yourself virtually first! On the other hand, you may be JUST the type of person they are looking for!
- Okay, so you've got their attention through your Video Résumé ... or have you? Where are you going to host your Video Résumé? YouTube? Bad idea! Free video hosting sites? Maybe. Why am I suggesting these options are not great? Simple, because you are not the star of the show! The page is so busy that their eye could be drawn away to other ads or interesting links. In fact, it may be so busy that they will have difficulty finding your Video Résumé at all.
So what's the solution? Create your own web page! Just about everybody has a free web space with their internet provider these days. If you can't create your own clean web page, then find a site that will create one for you. ( Streaming Video Résumés offers this service if you are interested in having someone else create and host your dedicated Video Résumé site. My Video Résumé example shows the web page layout).
- Email spamming is on the rise and spam blocker services are also rising to address the problem. How are you going to get past the email attachment issue? Well this problem has a simple solution too - send the prospective employer an email with a link only. If you have your own Video Résumé web page where prospective employers can go to meet you virtually AND read, download and print your text résumé, then you have successfully combined all the elements necessary to ensure a great first impression. It's a simple 4 step process :
Step 1
Send the prospective employer a covering letter, either email or hard copy, with a link to your Video Résumé web page. They watch your Video Résumé (which should start immediately when the page loads).
Step 2
They quickly assess whether you are a possible candidate for the job, or not.
Step 3
They either decide you don't meet the job requirements and leave your site, or they are very impressed, scan your Brief Bio and print the detailed PDF copy of your text résumé.
Step 4
They contact you for an interview. You're on your way!
With this simple 4 step process, you won't be wasting time and money going to "dead-end" interviews, because the prospective employer has already "met you" AND read your detailed text résumé outlining your skills and qualifications. You now have a good chance of landing that job!
- Now we come to the last problem - the problem we all have when we're job searching - cost! If you had the money, you wouldn't be looking for work right?! There are a number of costs involved in job searching, but the most common are:
Professional Text and/or Video Résumé production and printing costs.
This is where the internet and Streaming Video Résumés comes to the rescue! *Drum roll please*...
CALLING ALL "DO IT YOURSELFERS"
**HOT OFF THE PRESS** (um, computer). Streaming Video Résumés is proud to present the first online course in Video Résumé Production for the "Do It Yourselfer". But get this... not only can you create your own Video Résumé quickly and easily , but you can do it using ALL FREE SOFTWARE!
I promised that I would show you the simple, but powerful Video Résumé I sent to Melodi at Staff Quest. Click on the link below to view it now.
VIEW RÉSUMÉ
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