I know it is just an opinion; but… I am a recruiter for a national company and hiring by over the phone interviews “STINK!!!”

I do have to say that most (and by most, I mean 99.9999%) of video resumes currently posted are no better than an entertainment value due to their performance, even the ones for people in the media industry.

Most people will try to do it themselves rather than hire a professional. It is like someone working for a company finds out you can use Microsoft Word for a layout program and all of a sudden, they are a graphic artist. A comparison tangent? YES! I am just trying to make a point.

A video resume will tell me much… no, MUCH faster if I want to pursue the candidate; and not because of their looks. If anyone hires by looks, they might be missing out on someone who “could” take their company to new heights.

I like the idea of a video resume because anyone can have a resume “professionally” written. How are “you” as an HR manager, recruiter or just someone in the position of hiring going to know if the candidate is worth perusing by something you don’t even know that they wrote? You won’t!!! It is a trap shoot in this game.

A video resume is just another tool I could use to “help” weed out that stack of “professionally written” resumes on my desk.

If you are saying that video resumes’ as a stand alone means for applying for a job is senseless… I have to agree. However, if used in unison it can help “me” make better decisions on (at the minimum) who to interview. I just want to interject here, that I would still require a written resume; I don’t care how good the video was.

I don’t think a video resume should be over done; I don’t need to know they love their dog or can play a piano. Having a good 30 second or less lead in (like a cover letter) would be enough for me to want to read or watch their resume.

In closing, there is “NOTHING” that will beat a well written resume I am with you on that. EXCEPT… For a “written” resume that comes to me by e-mail with the resume attached with a link to their video or even by regular mail accompanied with a DVD. I prefer e-mail.

We have the technology… why not use it?

What I find particularly amusing are the websites that have been set up specifically to create and promote video resumes, and the VCs that are backing them. This is as dopey as Webvan burning $1.2B in investment capital in pursuit of profitless grocery delivery. There has to be a) a business model, and b) a need. And the two have to be in sync.

There are small niche applications of video technology in the business of recruiting and hiring, but I just don’t get how this idea keeps going around and around. I’ve even heard colleges are promoting it now. Has everyone lost their minds?

Here’s a more detailed analysis of video resumes which details the pluses and mostly minuses. http://thewaythingsare.typepad.com/antimarketer/2007/03/youtube_a_free_.html