Every once in a while, I see someone who is introducing innovation into their job hunt. Yesterday I received a message on Twitter from Brian Mosely (@bmose14), asking me to review a new video he created for his job search. His short, 3 minute video brings a unique approach to gaining exposure and ensuring his name isn’t lost in a stack of resumes. I’m not sure you can technically call his creation a video resume, but it is the perfect supplement to his paper submission.
Like me, Brian is a complete hockey nut. We’ve both played and coached hockey (although Brian is more advanced in those areas than I am), and are religious NHL fans. His goal is to land a job in hockey, working for a sports team in some capacity. When you watch Brian’s clip below, you’ll clearly see he has experience and most importantly, PASSION for the sport. Maybe it’s just my love for hockey, but this video gave me the chills.
What are your thoughts on videos to send in with you resume?
Have you created, or used a video resume?
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great idea. I have never seen it done before in IT recruitment but I see how it could work – I know plenty of reality TV shows and other similar programs request video interviews so why not normal jobs?
Its basically a pre-empted video conference (which I have seen done before multiple times)
It also allows you to demonstrate your communication and presentation skills – something you cant do on a standard resume.
Hey Vinay – thanks for your comment – I think it can be done for most if not all jobs. Many video resumes are just the candidate talking about themselves, but people can create great video supplements like this to send in with their resume.
I thought Brian did a great job in showing his experience in the sport as well as his love. On paper, the passion won’t come across, but the experience will. This was a nice mix. No one will hire him alone on this video, but I think it will bring his paper resume many more views.
The video was great and makes me want to hire the dude. Let us know what happens with his job hunt and if the video made a difference
Hi Cameron – will do! This was great, and I hope Brian sees some success with it!
All I can say is that is Awesome!
Certainly was awesome, Marty and so are you.
Very clever idea! I bet he lands himself a job! I just hope he recycled all that paper he used
Hey Lindsey – Really cool idea from, Brian. I’ll keep up with him to see if it helps his hunt!
Thank you for all of the positive feedback
and big thanks to Rich @CornOnTheJob for writing it up so eloquently. I’ll definitely keep everyone up to speed on what is happening.
@Lindsey: I’m a paper-recycling-nut, which is why I was really torn with the concept at first. But I planned it out very carefully so nothing was wasted & made sure to recycle every sheet
Hey Brian – Definitely keep us posted on what happens moving forward. Come back and comment on this post, or let me know on Twitter!
Thanks for clearing up the recycling question!
I think this is one of the most intelligent ways to stand out from the crowd. Instead of a pile of resumes, you get in touch with real person behind the resume. In fact, seeing all these posts about video this morning is motivating to go out and get my HD Flip Cam.
Srini – grab that flip cam and put together something brilliant! I know you will!
Just terrific on every level! Especially powerful for candidates who are passionate about the industry that they want to work in. I just hope the recruiters and other HR folks are open to this kind of creativity. If you read Seth Godin’s Linchpin, he reminds us that the working world is dominated by people who perpetuate fitting in rather than standing out. I hope this approach is the beginning of a new era! Well done to both you and Brian. Loved his website…that was an impressive extra.
Hey Dawn – I agree with Seth. The working world conforms to the standard. Hopefully they see something like this and it makes them want to see more, not less.
Thanks for your comment!
I definitely thought this video was so great I had to share it with everyone at work, although we did notice some grammar mistakes (sorry, just thought you might want to know).
I work for a non-profit as a Caseworker, both my co-worker and I agreed this is the perfect idea to get ahead in this field (or any of them really). So often now it’s not just our Social Work skills that are being tested, but also our ability to think outside of the box in so many ways.
So, thanks to @bmose14 for the great inspiration. And thanks to Rich for the great writing, once again. Rich, your blog has definitely been much appreciated in the past, looking forward to more great posts in the future.
Good luck with the job search Brian (and everyone else out there)!!
Hey Alyssa – really appreciate your comments and nice words. Glad there has been a take away from certain posts.
Thanks for sharing this post with your co-workers, hopefully some of them will stop by as well and join our community! Have a good one!
Great idea to stand out and really showcase yourself. My only very small criticism, and I mean small because the video was really good, was that it could have been a little shorter. I always hear about recruiters and HR managers putting emphasis on brevity, as their free time is very limited to look through candidate information. I wonder if a recruiter would open this video and, even though it is 3 minutes, think it is too long.
Good luck to you! I may even create my own video resume, if only to showcase my production skills.
Hi Erin – good point. If Brian isn’t getting many views, I’ll suggest he shorten it. Thanks for leaving your thoughts and comment.
Rich, this is an interesting idea, but I have some questions about implementation. Is this something that I should push out to recruiters? For example, if emailing a cover letter and resume to a recruiter, would it be beneficial to write something like, “you can learn more about me via my video resume – link here”? Or would it be better to have the video embedded on say, a personal website that I advertise on resumes, cover letters, and email signatures? but without specifically asking a recruiter to look at it?
A few years ago I bought the domain of my name for the purpose of professional branding and SEO, but based on the number of unique visits it gets, I sometimes seriously wonder if recruiters or anyone else is even looking at it.
Hey Rob – I would make it as easy as possible for the person viewing the email. I would just toss in a link sending them directly to the video.
That would be your best bet!
Rich, so glad you shared this. I think Brian did an outstanding job of standing out in a very positive way. I agree that it is a nice supplement to the standard resume and only wish I had a hockey-related position to give him. Is he based in St. Louis? I think his area code was from STL. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for him. I’d also encourage him to look at jobs at BJC in St. Louis. While we don’t play hockey, we do care for kids and it’s clear he has a passion for that too. Great job!
Hey Trish – Thanks for your thoughts on the video. Brian is based in St. Louis, and I’ll make sure to tweet to connect both of you. Since we “met” on twitter he’s been very engaging and I understand his passion for the sport. I’m not sure he’s willing to go anywhere else than a hockey related opening, but I’ll pass on your message.
Thanks again!
Are paper resumes becoming extinct? It sure seems to be heading in that direction. I think creating a video resume is certainly a good idea – a great way to stand out in the crowd and a nice way to show a broad skill set. I recently came across a site, VideoBio (http://profile.videobio.tv/) that makes affordable video bio’s, lots of people are doing it! Of course, some people are better on camera than others, so I don’t think it’s for everyone. Based on the previous comments, it seems like video resumes are something that might actually be taken into consideration if submitted in addition to a traditional resume.
Speaking of resume supplements, I’m curious what you (and the folks who commented) think about social media resumes/portfolios. More and more students are showcasing their work and resumes in the form of personal websites/portfolios. I think this could be a great idea for another blog post, as many of my classmates are looking for “best practices in social media resumes” and “what employees are looking for in online portfolios.” Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Hey Ally – thanks for the comment.
I just checked out that video bio site you sent me. It seems pretty pricey for a college student. I’d suggest just dressing up nicely, heading somewhere with a cool background, and just going for it. No need for anything too fancy. Employers will be impressed with the creativity, thought, and what you have to say.
Blogs, websites and portfolios are almost a must have for certain areas of study (PR, Journalism, etc). It probably won’t be 100% necessary for all areas, but it will definitely head that way in the future. My quick tip is to keep it professional and fun, while also showing your personality. Use these websites as a way to show off everything that won’t fit on your resume. Check spelling and grammar, and make sure to stay relevant to the area you want to end up in.
Those are some quick tips, but I may need to visit this later in a new post.
Big thanks to everyone for all the feedback. I welcome the constructive criticisms as well
@Erin – Length was the most common criticism I received about the video. I considered shortening it at first, but decided against it because it said what I wanted to say. I was happy with it, so I kept it. The hockey industry is small, so it’s definitely not recommended for everyone, but it worked for me.
@Alyssa – You mentioned some grammatical errors. The biggest challenge I had with the video was trying to keep the message conversational. In some ways I had to throw grammar out the window in order to achieve this.
@Rob – My main goal for the video was to not make a resume video. Notice it doesn’t really tell you any hard facts about my work experience or job skills (like a real resume might). It was primarily to get people thinking differently about who they really want to hire. (and hopefully that’s me!)
@Trish – Thanks for the kind words. I am very proud to be from the ‘Lou
@Dawn – Thanks for the website compliment. Along with the message and call-to-action, you always need to direct the reader somewhere!
This post inspired me to create my own video resume. It’s a little bit different than Brian’s – I tried to incorporate the feedback in the comments here into my final product.
http://vimeo.com/10310037
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