Is the idea of video resumes and video recruitment tools ready for prime time in 2007? Although HR pros may not be ready to give virtual company tours, show video testimonials about benefits or sit through dozens of video resumes, one thing is certain: The days of the Sunday classified ads are long gone.
In an effort to capitalize on both the burgeoning popularity of social networking and technological advances, entrepreneurs have begun pushing the concept of video resumes and career tours as the next logical step toward streamlined recruiting. However, such companies have experienced friction with the HR/benefits community, many of whom are the very people they are hoping to reach.
"We hardly have time to spend 10-to-15 seconds on a resume, let alone watch a video," says Tom Darrow, a talent recruitment consultant and president of the Atlanta chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Darrow doesn't necessarily see all use of video in recruiting as a negative. He's a strong advocate of companies advancing technology from the recruitment end to give prospective employees a better view of the company culture.Video company tours would show potential new hires "[the company is] high-tech - [and that] they're on the bleeding edge of the market," he says.
Aaron Bare, CEO of CareerTours, whose company hosts career recruitment videos for employers, says, "It's a real time-saver for recruiters," speaking to the idea of "frictionless recruiting," in which potential hires are more appropriately directed to the types of jobs they are qualified for or would be happy in. He hopes his company will become the "YouTube of employment," where potential new hires will visit to see what life is really like in their prospective new company.
Nick Murphy, CEO of the video recruitment company WorkBlast, argues that this idea can easily be extended to work from the consumer end as well. Murphy founded WorkBlast after realizing that, after four years of playing professional football, he had a bachelor's degree and no "real" work experience. "That was my wake-up call," he says. He knew there were others out there with a resume that looked "a whole lot like everyone else's."
No replacement for paper
Murphy cautions, though, that the video must be seen as a supplement to, not a replacement of, the traditional paper resume. Jim Buttimer, chief operating officer of CareerTV, agrees, "[Video resumes are] the next evolution in employment branding." CareerTV hosts video resumes and company tours. Their August launch event in New York City was attended by several hundred potential new users and many HR professionals.
The tie-up, he says, is that the video recruitment industry remains "the Wild West." "There's no defined structure," he says, although his company is working to change that. "HR folks don't want to get 1,000 video resumes that are from one- minute to 20-minutes long to get the info they need," Buttimer explains. But if there was some sort of industry standard, he suggests - just like general rules for paper resumes - the technology could prove infinitely useful.
Buttimer envisions that HR/benefit managers would read paper resumes to narrow the field down to 20 candidates. Then, instead of going through the hassle of setting up an initial phone interview with each, 20 video resumes would help sort through the remaining candidates. At two minutes each, the hour spent viewing resumes would save up to 10 hours total.
Jennifer Schramm, manager of workplace trends and forecasting for SHRM, voices several concerns. "There hasn't been a critical mass of people using video resumes," she says. "Most of us aren't trained actors or a Hollywood look-alike," adding that for jobs that aren't directly related to the entertainment industry or sales, the way a person interacts on camera is less important than their skill sets, which can easily be seen on paper.
Legal considerations
Both Schramm and Darrow expressed concerns over potential legal ramifications. Nondiscrimination laws prevent denying employment based on gender, disability or race, and experts worry that use of video resumes could be construed as discriminatory if potential employees were not hired.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance guidelines state that "equal employment opportunity cannot be denied any person because of his/her racial group or perceived racial group, his/her race-linked characteristics (e.g., hair texture, color, facial features), or because of his/her marriage to or association with someone of a particular race or color." The issue of video recruiting is not discussed.
"The EEOC is not at all declaring advances in technology or specifically video resumes as discrimination, per se," says Paula Bruner, attorney adviser and special assistant to the EEOC chair."If an employer is relying only on a video resume, they're informed about attributes. That may cloud the decision on whom to choose for the job, particularly if the person is inclined already to discriminate. It doesn't allow for a level playing field."
Video resumes are mentioned briefly in a July 2007 description of an EEOC initiative, "Eradicating Racism and Colorism from Employment (E-Race)", which cautions employers to be careful of their reliance on new technology that "could lead to intentional race or color discrimination based on appearance or a disproportionate exclusion of applicants of color who may not have access to broadband-equipped computers or video cameras."
Bruner cautions that, while there is no federal law prohibiting photos, there are several state and local laws that prohibit photos or anything that would disclose a person's protected traits.
"Employers ought to be aware what the laws are in their respective jurisdictions because a video resume could, arguably, be treated like a photo," she comments.
The EEOC does not have formal guidelines or tip sheets in place, but the agency plans to issue them at a future date.Will video recruitment and other Web-based technologies take off?
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