Have resumes been doing the job since the first drop of ink hit the papyrus centuries ago? Sure they have. But then again most systems have been “doing the job” for years and years until something better comes along.

Do resumes need to change? You. Bet.

But video resumes? No. Not in this lifetime.

I’ve got nothing against the companies trying to push that idea forward – but it’s just not practical right now. Client companies are not at all jumping on the bandwagon.

Picture a REAL candidate in the video rather than the model the agency hired for that shoot. Kinda changes the feel of a video resume, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong – I’ve got nothing against beautiful people and she certainly qualifies. I just have to admit – most the folks I place are more than likely NOT hotties. Or hunks. They’re just regular people.

And regular people don’t have to be SEEN to demonstrate their communication style, address their fit for a particular role or give you a sense of their personality, humor and general character. I think that once you introduce “what someone looks like” you’ve started a beauty contest that most hiring managers don’t want to personally judge.

But you DO need to HEAR them. A piece of paper simply DOESN’T get that point across. No way. No how. They all look the same.

I just listened to Recruiting Animal discuss marketing with his guest Richard Becker. One point brought up several times was “look at your competitors and find a way to differentiate yourself”.

We are all sending resumes like sheep.

The resume has GOT TO CHANGE. Period. We are all scrambling to adapt the latest technologies to our recruting/sourcing/tracking approach. Many firms are spending thousands (tens of thousands…) on their on-line recruiting and employment branding efforts…..only to then pass along the same-old lame Word resume the same way they’ve been doing it for years.

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