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Should your CV now be in video?

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: We are living in an age of media convergence – from print to digital; audio to video. When the society bid adieu to manual things and embrace digital revolution, it is natural progression of sorts for the job seekers to make a video resume in an effort to make strong impression in the job market, though the concept is yet to make a lasting impression in the market.

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Though the idea of video resume dates back to 1980s, for use and transmission via VHS tape, it did not go beyond the video taping of interviews.

However, the advent of technology and the modern capabilities of transmitting streaming video via the Internet, once again the concept of video resumes remerged, though it did not set a trend.

However, one young man’s ‘daring attempt’ of sending a video resume, created history, though not in a positive way.

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In October 2006, Aleksey Vayner, who was then a student at Yale University, applied for a job with UBS AG, in a very interesting way. Apart from a 11-page application, he had also submitted an elaborate video clipping, called ‘Impossible in Nothing’.

Amused by this one employee of UBS forwarded it to other and soon the video resume was posted online by some pranksters and finally it appeared on the video-sharing site YouTube, thus making Vayner a laughing stock rather than getting any bouquet for his innovative way of presenting himself.

The debacle of ‘Impossible is Nothing’, made the job hunters think that a pompous, self-promoting infomercial can be much more damaging than a terribly bland, paper-resume and you will become a subject of ridicule. But is it so? Should it be ridiculed? Won’t it give a clearer picture of the applicant and his personality? Some people believe the ‘clearer picture’ is the problem.

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They argue that “video resumes can serve to facilitate racial, ethnic, class-based and age discrimination, or lead to accusations of such discrimination.” And also “a text resume allows for specific pieces of information to be parsed out and compared across candidates. When the information is delivered verbally, recruiters need to glean the details themselves."

Then, there is the fear among many job seekers that they’ll be poorly represented in a video. And on the other hand, many employers think video resumes are too modern to digest! Despite all the odds it is a fact that more and more people are now thinking of the possibility of the video resume.

Though Vayner became a laughing stock, his attempt has inspired many recruiters and job seekers to exploit the possibilities of this new mode and in near future may become the in-thing in job search market. However, from the flop resume of Vayner, we have to learn a few things say experts.

First of all one should not banter about the philosophies of ‘success’. Nor should the resume have clips of yourself lifting weights in shorts or reenactment of the X-Games stunts. So get ready for the video resume?

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