Two years and ongoing a schedule of the coronavirus pandemic and the world has come to embrace such ways in living not ordinarily very attractive. That, even when this new mode of existence might have been something touted long back as being an advancing indeed along with the times but failing still to gain momentum for reasons in non fancying. One such long devised technology that surprisingly had not been really able to assert itself as a common mode in living is that of the now favored tool of Visumes.
Video resumes that they are, out of which their identity have been eked out as a portmanteau of sorts albeit not in such clear cut defining in terminology, this now very established craze in the professional world is very evident in the essence of what it is. And while the COVID times surely cannot be pinpointed as the one ushering in the technological revolution, that which it has however managed to amplify the immenseness of in necessity, it still is this past couple of years when the technicalities of hiring has been relying more and more on this promise yielded by what is not even as recent as a new millennium invention.
The idea stems back to the 1980s and as such emerges as a concept rather established but the fact that video resumes have been all but existent during the following decades makes it more a thing not even so much of the early 2000s as it is of the 2020s. As a video version of a traditional resume, adhering thus to such norms and standards of length and content as might be considered professionally adequate, visumes quite surprisingly emerged to this current prominence upon the platform of TikTok even though the COVID 19 induced global social distancing requirement had indeed created a whole new world of exclusive relevance for video resumes to covet.
Much like a conventional resume that lists the talent and work profile of an individual, video resumes pretty much does the same task in presenting the qualifications and experiences of the candidates for recruiters to consider the prospect of hiring that particular candidate. But beyond the restricted framework of a print resume visumes also allow employers a better insight into the actual capabilities of the person making themselves available for the job. For through video resumes, one gets to know not just the skills and profile of the candidate but also the personality and soft skills of the one summed up in that brief video. Much like a personal interview in itself conducted online bereft of course of the two way means in communication but efficient still in helping potential employers gauge the true nature of the candidate that goes a long way in reflecting the work spirit and performance potential, video resumes are a convenient alternative and in fact perhaps a more representative one when it comes to candidates pitching themselves for a job.
The fast popularity that video resumes are commanding stem essentially of the better affordability they provide in gauging not just the hardcore professional skills of the individual but also across the equally crucial but somewhat complex sets of social and emotional skills most essentially as well as a whole range of miscellaneous skills as well. In being able to more accurately understand the aptitude of the person and judging thus their suitability for a particular position, it is no wonder that recruiters all over are favoring this visual version of the resume to acquire for themselves the most promising candidates. But while the scope of exploring the true measure of the candidate’s suitability by gaining access to additional facets of their being makes for a much relevant consideration in pretty much every sector of employment, visumes still tend to be particularly more helpful in specific some areas of work more based on the nuances of in person communication that call therefore for particular thrust to be lent upon the personality of the employee.
Particularly in such areas of employment as sales and business representation, or in teaching and mentoring as well as in more new age opportunities explored along the realms of social media as content creators and performers along with traditional fields of the artistic kind like acting and other performing arts, visual resumes tend to be much helpful a tool in determining very accurately the best fit for the job. As actual representation of themselves, candidates also get to put across their point in more specificness, dwelling on their strong areas in such emphasis that manages to impress the viewers of their resume. Listing a set of skills for a job vs demonstrating the extent to which one has command over their area of work possesses very obvious differences and visumes help indeed both potential employers and prospective employees to work out such negotiations upon talent as per requirement that works the best for either of them.
Even without the impact, video resumes tend to be more conducive in their convenience and ease of access. Visual depictions always tend to be more stimulating than print relayings for the human mind and particularly in going through the tedious process in sifting through multitudes of black and white reams of paper, a live action alternative stands out indeed as preferable. First, the very nature of videos being interactive in themselves with the person speaking and doing is one that commands and captures absolute attention and this therefore offsets to quite some extent the dulling effect of the monotonous. Also the accompanying feature of the audio makes visumes even more additionally inclined to be convenient in their seeking out. In helping to chart out therefore the presentation of the candidate in holisticness, video resumes surely are a new age boon made possible by advances of the digital.
That however is not to say that video resumes are the ultimate and the most foolproof way in companies securing for themselves the best candidates or in job seekers landing themselves in exactly such position that would be the best for their careers. Seeking out the area in active expression and representation of oneself is a plus no doubt but consider the complexities of the technical kind that goes into making even the most basic of videos and the whole exercise of this tends to emerge as quite a bother. Consider going a bit professional and it would cost you the bucks if one isn’t themselves in the know about this aspect of presentation. Decide to trust still your not even amateur ‘expertise’ and one risks sending out a visume that adversely impacts their prospects in finding employment. Either way, the effort involved is way too massive in sending out video resumes over worded ones.
Even the impact created by visumes depend on the amount of exertion one goes through to put up as impressive a show of their skills. Time consuming for sure as well, with such necessities as scripts and equipment and settings even to produce a decent enough footage of yourself suitable of being professionally presented, and taking the pains of editing as well as in other aspects of dressing oneself up in work appropriate wear or keeping it in mind to not go overboard with the opportunity in self advocating, video resumes can be tricky enough applications in making therefore the idea of them not as feasible as they seem to be.
Visumes also come with more serious concerns of such kind that have been universal no- nos in the professional world. There is more than enough scope for biases to assert through visual perceiving of candidates, taking upon forms of discrimination as diverse as those based on gender and race and ethnicity as well as those of age and height and weight or disabilities and certain some medical conditions, which has led these dynamic modes in recruitment considerations to be subject to serious criticism. Other associated shortcomings might manifest in the form of such exclusionary characteristics that do not work out well indeed for camera shy people or those not particularly comfortable or conversant in performing and delivering across an all digital setting.
For confident individuals though more than sure of their own capabilities and also their limitations, video resumes leverages indeed them when it comes to strongly establishing the case for themselves. Particularly when compared to the traditional mode of in person interview, visumes, even as just a scrutiny of candidates through their printed resumes, help in that they allow them the chance to speak for themselves rather than being answerable just to the questions posed by the recruiter. Video resumes also helps in explaining possible situations regarded in much disfavor, like that of a gap in employment timeline or a shift in career interest so as to prevent employers from assuming preconceived notions. Brief and crisp, non generalised and customised to adequately reflect the profile of employment, video resumes can be perhaps the most on point listings of candidates for a digitally driven world of recruiters and employers to seek out the best fit among them all.
The very ‘feel’ of the applicant in how they present themselves or in their body language and the vibe they radiate and such other factors that are significant enough in affecting the actual performance of them if employed consequentially also make for advantages that make video resumes, much like many such considerations increasingly opting for a digitalised pursuance, an exciting way to land jobs and eke out one’s career in the unconventional path of it. But the underlying biases and sometimes even imposed impressions worked in by the candidate can make them even more unreliable a technology in employment than the traditional version. As far as pitching of people as prospective employees are concerned, visual resumes can be a breakthrough. Beyond that, that is to exclusively consider visumes as the interview in itself to award appointment letters might be a gamble that need not necessarily pay off every single time.
