Video Killed the Resume Star?

There was an interesting article in Monday's New York Post on the topic of video resumes -- touching on the fact that though they've been plugged as the next BIG thing in recruiting, they really haven't gained much traction with employers.

The article, "Trailing Paper," includes contributions from industry experts (including our own Jenny Floren) and outlines three primary obstacles to video resumes: discrimination concerns; inefficiency issues; and poor performance on behalf of the candidates in the videos themselves.

In the story, one college career services professional offers his viewpoint: "I've had no employer ask for a video resume, nor have any of my students asked for that service. It sounds like hype to me." Another expert suggests just the opposite, indicating that video resumes will take off very quickly with Gen Y entering the workforce and today's tweens following them relatively shortly thereafter.

Personally, in my line of work (marketing), I think video resumes are a bad idea. My biggest issue isn't with discrimination possibilities or it being a timely exercise for recruiters -- it's with the whole notion of what's appropriate. If the video isn't as polished and professional as possible, credibility (and the candidate's chances) immediately goes out the door. And if it's really bad, it could potentially wind up on YouTube as a lesson in what NOT to do. Ever hear of the Yale student who in all seriousness submitted a video resume to an investment bank? In addition to touting his financial strengths, the video included him performing karate, playing tennis and engaging in deep philosophical discussion. It fast became the joke of Wall Street.

What do you think?

Photo by slushpup

What Would You Do with a Portfolio?

We held a webinar today on Online Career Portfolios with nearly 100 career centers in attendance. After talking to half a dozen schools who use online career portfolios today, we found that they are being used as both a career development tool (identifying strengths and interests) and as a way for a student or an alum to showcase his/her talents and experiences.

On the employer side, we surveyed over 100 recruiters and 42% told us they would use portfolios as part of the interview screening process (especially with on-the-fence applicants) and 22% said they would use them after the interview to learn more about a candidate.

Check out a sample portfolio and tell us how you would most likely use it.

News from Nashville

I spent the early part of last week at the SHRM Staffing conference in Nashville. Around 1500 people attended - most were corporate recruiters although we did meet with some recruiters from colleges and universities looking to hire for faculty and staff positions.

First of all, the conference site - the Gaylord Opryland resort - was humongous! Every time I stepped out of my hotel room into the 9 acres of atrium-enclosed indoor gardens, waterfalls, conference areas and 3000 rooms, I got lost (seriously, I am not kidding). If it were not for the trusty map they handed me when I checked in, I would probably still be there.

When I actually got where I wanted to go, I learned a few things:

I heard Pat Summit, the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team give the conference keynote. She is the winningest coach in NCAA history. She talked a lot about attitude, teamwork, team ownership of a goal, loyalty and accountability - values that she has tried to instill in her team to get them to the next level and to tackle their next challenge together. What a powerhouse!

I also saw Kevin Carroll, the author of the Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. His session was on Rediscovering Play : Bringing Fun and Passion to Your Work and Life. Kevin interjects fun and play into work environments to spur creativity and breakthroughs - his stints include working at Nike (where he was the catalyst behind this ad spot), ESPN and Starbucks (his words adorn coffee cups everywhere). His main message was to "resign as an adult" (we actually had to raise our hands and swear) and use your "eyes of a child" to turn ideas into reality. A breath of fresh air.

I also enjoyed 2 sessions on Gen Y. Amy Lynch of Bottom Line Conversations talked about retaining Gen Y workers by understanding their expectations ("paying your dues" versus "learning") and providing opportunities for career and skills growth through lattice/lateral moves. Marie Artim of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car shared her company's approach to giving new college hires what they value - location, career paths (ERAC has a nice interactive career map that explains this) and training.

Of course, I also enjoyed hanging out with industry notable such as Mark Mehler of CareerXroads, Joel Cheesman of Cheezhead and Danielle Zittel of ERE (who incidently got her job through Experience- yay!), all of the other recruiters that we met over the 2 unbelievably packed days at our booth, as well as my fabulous colleagues from Experience.

That said, I am glad to be back in Boston, where it is finally spring!

ERE Spring - Excellent.....Really Excellent

This week I traveled with some of our sales team to the ERE Expo 2008 Spring conference in San Diego. We exhibited at this particular ERE event for the first time and it was really fabulous. Unlike the scores of trade shows I've been to in the past, they arranged exhibit hours around lunch and post session cocktails so we really had a captive audience. We met with recruiters from companies like, United Airlines, American Eagle Airlines, DaVita, Nike, Apple, Blue Cross Blue Shield and many more.

The event was two-days of sessions on all of the emerging industry trends like Workforce Planning; Employment Branding; Building Your Brand by Identifying and Sharing Stories. Branding was a huge topic discussed in the sessions and on the show floor. Over two days my colleagues (Tony Lopes, Todd Poires, Chris Hardy) and I met with more than 100 contacts and all of them wanted to talk about branding. Penelope Trunk of the Brazen Careerist presented on 'What Generation Y Really Wants, and the Barriers to Giving it to Them' where she detailed misconceptions about the generation and strategies for hiring them.

We didn't get to participate in the sessions but she generated a lot of buzz on the trade show floor with her session. The premise of her presentation is that they are far more serious and conservative than previous generations. We couldn't agree more. There has been a lot of talk over the past 2 years about 'Helicopter Parents' hovering over their young adult children, making their decisions for them. This generation is very cautious and do rely on their parents and others to help them navigate major decisions in their lives, but they do make their own choices. Part of the issue is that they are faced with more choices than any other generation (from tooth paste - to- brand of clothing) but that's another post entirely.

If you attended the show and would like to share your thoughts, please post a comment. If you weren't there and have questions about what you missed, let us know!! Following are some pictures from the event. We had a great time and look forward to exhibiting at the ERE show next fall in Florida!

Hopping Around

In yesterday's Boston Globe, an interesting article by Penelope Trunk covered a trend that's becoming increasingly popular in these trying economic times: job hopping. Simply titled "Job hopping an option for young people" (read the full article here), Trunk tries to make the case for the belief that the best thing a millennial can do early in his career is to move around -- a lot -- so he can figure out what he's good at and what he likes.

As a Gen X'er, I'm not that far removed from the 20-somethings who have just begun their careers or are about to graduate and enter the workforce. I don't know about you, but this advice seems pretty backwards when compared to what my college career counselors preached. And it's certainly the opposite of what my parents drilled into me when I was first starting out.

Trunk thinks that companies get more passionate work out of people who are in their first two years, vs. those who have been there a while (i.e., those who have grown complacent) and plan to stay longer. I can understand that argument, even with the employer examples she cites, but I'm still not sold on the idea.

Do you think job hopping is a good idea for people who are just beginning their careers? Do people who hop build their network faster, build their skill set faster and become more engaged in their work -- ultimately making them more desirable?

Food for thought.

Photo by myriorama