You’re either as awesome as Barney Stinson – he is awesome – or you’re just that wonderful you who was either born ready for the camera, or you weren’t.
Most of us fall into three categories:
- Those who have never submitted a video resume even though it meant not applying to a dream job.
- Those who’ve got PTSD style trauma relating to a previous experience submitting a terrible video resume so ghastly that within 4 seconds they were rejected.
- Those who are just really good at that kind of thing.
Branding yourself in a way that gets the attention of hiring managers is one of the most important things you can do for your career. In addition to a website with an online portfolio, having a video resume gives you an opportunity to quickly introduce yourself in a one-minute or so video. This is key because it allows you to control the first impression.
If you are truly dedicated to standing out then I recommend you get a site where you can feature your best in a tasteful way which includes your portfolio, resume, and video. One link is the most a hiring manager will click and these days its usually LinkedIn.
In this lovely clip entitled “Google Please Hire Me”, we see what thinking outside the box can get you. I encourage you to do this ONLY if you’re Saturday Night Live style funny enough to pull it off and have a large group of cohorts whom you rely on for honest creative criticism, input, and feedback. There’s nothing worse than ending up on someone’s (my) playlist for Video Resume Fails.
Here’s a great video that quickly sums up some of the most relevant tips for creating a video resume.
What a strong video resume will do for you:
- It is a demonstration of your brand (e.g. your confidence with video conferencing and so forth).
- It helps you to build rapport with the hiring manager.
- It helps to create excitement around who you are and drive the hiring manager to want to meet you.
- It is not constrained to something as one dimensional as a print resume, because neither are you!
Brooke Spears | The Brand Design 