Video Resumes: Should You Create and Distribute a Video Resume?

Although not widely utilized, job seekers have created and disseminated video resumes for the past twenty-five years.  Developed as an attention-getting gimmick, video resumes have not made much headway in the intervening decades.  With improvements in technology, however, the video resume is again receiving attention.  As a strategy for securing interviews, how do video resumes compare and contrast to the time-honored method of resume writing?

Because video resumes are not the norm, some employers may perceive them as more interesting than text resumes.  When video resumes first emerged, it was difficult for employers to access them; not every hiring manager’s office was equipped with a television and a VCR.  Given the latest technology, however, most employers can easily view DVD’s and media files on their computers, using the appropriate software applications.  Readily accessible, video resumes offer employers opportunities to see and hear applicants present their career qualifications.  By their very nature, documents produced through resume writing cannot provide these opportunities.

On the other hand, job hopefuls must exercise extreme care when submitting video resumes.  The camera is merciless, exposing flaws in appearance, diction, and overall presentation.  If projecting less than perfection, video resumes can damage the professional image critical to the job seeker’s quest.  By contrast, the process of resume writing produces text versions of candidates’ qualifications, thereby eliminating this dangerous potentiality.  In addition, cost can be a negative factor in producing and distributing video resumes.

How probable is it that video resumes will replace traditional text resumes?  If the quarter-century history of the video resume is any indication, this scenario is highly unlikely.  Presented as an online or printed document, a written resume remains the job seeker’s most effective tool for securing interviews.  Uncolored by perceptions engendered by video resumes, text resumes provide employers with a fairly rapid means of separating the wheat from the chaff.  Hiring managers can technologically scan resumes for keywords and phrases; they cannot do so by fast-forwarding a video presentation.

Since resumes of impeccable quality often provide job seekers their only viable means of securing interviews, the written resume, with far fewer variables to consider than its video counterpart, offers candidates more control over the content of their resumes and ultimately, their job searches.  Given the significance of written resumes in the job search, it makes sense to hire a professional resume service to produce documents leading to interviews and jobs.