The jobseekers boosting their applications with video CVs

Video resumes are a unique chance to stand out, and they show your personality, creativity and editing skills.

This can be particularly helpful for applicants with little experience applying in competitive fields who need an extra edge to secure a role.

As well as sending a written resume, this could include sending video resumes, personal email and LinkedIn connection requests to employers – anything to help create a human connection in an overcrowded field. 

While PDF and paper resumes may get lost in the crowd, a 2021 study by Canadian research institute Cirano found two-thirds of employers opened and watched spontaneous video resume submissions, and video resumes increased call-back rates by more than 10%.

Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, affects people around the globe in staggering numbers, and even speaking on camera to an empty room can cause feelings of stage fright. During the pandemic, researchers have connected feelings of Zoom fatigue to the anxiety of speaking on camera due to stressors such as feeling hyper-aware of one’s appearance and non-verbal gestures, feeling trapped in the camera view and difficulty reading the non-verbal reactions of others. 

One 2016 survey of 100 US employers suggested that just 3% of companies preferred to receive a video resume over other resume formats (just 2% did in 2013). But experts say there’s a likelihood that number is changing, as video-savvy Gen Z’ers are beginning to apply for jobs, and the nature of recruiting is increasingly digital.

Many companies use AI systems to help reduce subjectivity in the screening process. Companies are using tools to remove photos, names, even names of the universities, when recruiters and sources are searching for candidates on LinkedIn and from other sourcing tools.

But as video resumes cannot be filtered in the same way, candidates can leave themselves open to a more human selection process that is potentially flawed.

They raise the chance that your resume will create some kind of bias, and you will be discriminated against based on age, race or ethnicity.

A study showed that while using video resumes increased call-back rates for all candidates by 10%, wheelchair users were still less likely to be called to interview, and prospective employers were more likely to stop watching their videos when it was revealed the candidate had a disability; for example, when their wheelchair came into view, even in workplaces where accessibility was ensured.

Call-back rates are at their highest when the applicant uses a video resume without revealing a disability.

Despite the challenges of making and submitting video resumes, we will see them used more in the future, for one simple reason: many people don’t know how to write effective CVs.

This difficulty leaves a window open for video resumes and other tools that can boost candidacies, rather than replacing written documents altogether.

While a video resume can give some valuable insight into a candidate, they’re definitely not make-or-break.