I want you all to look in the mirror this morning and decide whether it’s a good idea to put a photo of yourself on your resume or to create a video resume.
How do you look, sound? Are you witty, or boring?
Be critical now. Don’t hold anything back. This decision could make or break your job search.
Also, I want you to consider if the industry or company you plan on applying to for work is heavily weighted with a certain type of person. Maybe there are few women or minorities.
Even though employers aren’t allowed to discriminate against you, your mug on your resume could tell a hiring manager what race you are, your age, or even religion, if you’re wearing a headscarf, for example.
A resume they could toss aside. If they call you in for an interview and then realize you don’t look like them and they’re uncomfortable with that, at least you’ve gotten your foot in the door and you can prove yourself in person.
I know, an employer can probably find a bunch of photos of you if the Google your name and search under images. But sending them a photo or video of yourself quickly takes the mystery out of the process.
I’m telling you this because you all need to be realistic if you decide to put together a visual resume with photographs, or a video resume. I think they’re good ideas and I write about them in my MSNBC.com column today, but they are definitely not for everyone.
Career experts have been debating the multimedia resume for some time now, and many have advised people to bypass them. But in this competitive job market anything that can set you apart today is helpful. Especially if you’ve sent hundreds of resumes out to no avail.
Just be tough on yourself when you create these things and make sure you’re really putting your best foot forward. Ask a friend you know will offer a critical eye. You know the type, the one that tells you if you have a booger hanging from your nose, or tells you honestly if those jeans make your butt look big.
Here are some video resumes I found on the Internet. You be the judge. Would you hire any of these folks?
The serious guy:
The funny vixen:
The sandwich guy:
May 4th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
If an employer tosses your resume aside, for the reasons mentioned in the article, would you have really wanted to work for them in the first place? I think not. (there are other ways to look at this…I’m just making one point)
May 4th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
A very good point indeed. But sometimes people make snap decisions based on their own biases. Some studies of hiring decisions show that people like to hire people like themselves, especially during tough economic times. As Jean-Paul Sartre wrote in Anti-Semite and Jew: People are attracted by “the durability of a stone.”
Since we know human nature in some ways draws us to what we know, it may be a good idea not share too much of yourself until you’re face to face with a hiring manager.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I’ve used auto-advancing PowerPoint presentations as resumes before, but never got a single interview from one of them. The number of interviews offered to me increased only after I learned to customize my resume and cover letter to focus directly on the qualifications sought for the position.
In this age, I’d be more concerned about getting past the automatic resume scanners and screeners. If a job lists “‘x’ years of experience with ‘this’” and I don’t have it, I include a sentence that may read “While I may not have ‘x’ years of experience with ‘this’, my years of expience with ’something else’uniquely prepared me to serve in this capacity.”
May 14th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Although I do not have any videos of myself out there, I did create a Visual CV. I did some research and saw that this might be a good way to promote myself, however, I have not gotten any leads or calls based on it yet.
http://www.visualcv.com/jenacg
May 14th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Love the VisualCV Jen!
May 14th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
thank you!
I hope for the best!
January 27th, 2010 at 8:27 am
In hindsight the piece I posted (The serious guy, above) is way too long and dry. If I were to do it again I would probably do it in the form of a 30 commercial. It was long ago and I was young…