November 21, 2022

A recent study shows 100–200 applications are received for a job position. Yet another study says recruiters only spend 7.6 seconds reading a job application.

That means you only have 7.6 seconds to impress recruiters with your resume.

With simple paper resumes, you might need more than a few seconds to get the attention of recruiters. But interactive video resumes can give you several opportunities to pique recruiters’ interests.

Your body language, expressions, attitude, confidence, and many other factors can make your application stand out in the crowd.

Let’s walk through this guide to learn about video resumes and how to create one.

What is a Video Resume?

A video resume is a brief video clip in which job seekers describe their skills and relevant experience. Like a paper resume, a video resume highlights what makes you unique and why you’re a good fit for the job you’re applying for.

A video resume can be used in addition to a paper resume to help you stand out from the crowd. They’re especially useful for showcasing your presentation and creative abilities in creative professions.

When to Use a Video Resume?

Video resumes are the best way to stand out in the crowd. And, in certain situations, visual resumes work better than paper resumes, such as:

Showcase soft skills

Your work experience and technical skills play significant roles in whether you get a job, but your soft skills are also essential.

Video resumes make it easier to show off your skills, personality, and work history than a simple text document. A potential employer can also quickly see if your personality fits with the company’s work culture by watching your video resume.

Highlight your brownie points

Most employers scan traditional resumes quickly to save time, which means they might miss your accomplishments. However, the viewer retention rate can improve due to video resumes’ quick and engaging nature. This can help you communicate important information about yourself more effectively.

Put the focus on your technical skills

Everyone desires an employee who can quickly adapt to changing circumstances. A video resume is an excellent way to demonstrate this ability.

Keeping up with new job application trends shows your employer that you are dynamic and ready to pick up and learn new skills to stay relevant. Setting yourself apart from the usual way of applying for a job can also show your employer that you know how to use technology.

Pros and Cons of Video Resume

Pros

Showcase your creativity. A video is an excellent way to demonstrate your “savoir être” and professionalism when applying for creative jobs. It demonstrates that you’re plugged in. For example, if you’re applying for a marketing or public relations job, a video CV can demonstrate your knowledge of current trends.
Illustrates your technical knowledge. Even if the job you’re applying for has nothing to do with technology, the more you can demonstrate your knowledge, the more likely you’ll be hired.
Indicates your ability to communicate verbally. Companies are looking for candidates with strong verbal communication skills for almost every position, especially for sales, management, and customer service positions.
Present your language abilities. If you are applying for a job in a foreign country, video CVs are an excellent way to demonstrate your proficiency in multiple languages.
Ascertain your willingness to take a risk. Trying something new always involves a risk. Share your video CV with the hiring manager to demonstrate your willingness to take risks—it could be the decision that gets you the job.

Cons

A significant time commitment. It will take a long time to create one-of-a-kind, professional-quality videos. You can only send things of good quality to recruiters. Ensure your CV is tailored to the position for which you are applying.
You could do better on camera. Let’s face it: we weren’t all born to be stars. So, stick to traditional resumes if you can’t convey confidence and enthusiasm on screens.
Not all companies prefer video resumes. A video CV is inappropriate for all businesses, especially those concerned about discriminatory hiring practices.

How Long Should a Video Resume Be?

Limit your video resume to two minutes; anything longer is asking too much of the hiring manager. The ideal time is 60-90 seconds.

Read your script aloud, or even better, record yourself reading it and then play it back. Ensure to make the first 10 seconds of your video interesting because user engagement drops after that.

Do I Need Video Resume?

All this buzz about the video resume—must have made you wonder whether it is the best option for you. Although video resumes have been a ‘thing’ for years, some industries and employers still do not find them suitable for hiring new candidates.

So, by researching the culture of the industry or company you’re trying to break into, you can determine whether a video resume will help or hurt your chances.

What are the cultural standards? What does the typical hiring manager look like? Are they more traditional, or do they value diversity?

These are some basic questions you should ask yourself before investing in a video resume. Always remember, trying something new always has repercussions. So, be 100 percent sure about your needs before using this technology.

What to Include in Your Video Resume?

Consider your video resume as a mini-interview. Your attire, demeanor, language, and topic all matter in video CVs. Here are a couple of things that you must include in your video resume to get a good response from recruiters:

Tell your story. A video resume is an excellent way to highlight something from your background that impresses the hiring manager. If you can’t think of anything to say, outline your background and consider how your experiences are related. What have you previously learned that qualifies you for this new position? Just be free and tell your story with full conviction.
Create a job-specific video. Create a unique video for each job you apply for. You can better explain how your background qualifies for that specific job and include a sentence or two about why you want to work for the company.
Include a call to action. Finish the video with a strong call to action, a sentence or two that explains the next step and encourages viewers to take it. For example, you could request that the hiring manager looks at your LinkedIn profile to see the rest of your work history. A strong call to action can mean the difference between a video that gets results and one that merely entertains the hiring manager.

What Not to Do While Creating a Video Resume?

Before you start making your video CV, ensure to avoid the following mistakes at all costs:

Not preparing in advance

Please prepare before pressing the record button to avoid a sloppy, unstructured video that can turn off potential employers. We recommend writing a script to avoid this. Begin by introducing yourself and explaining why you’re applying for the position.

You must emphasize your experience and skills by linking them to key phrases from the job description and person specification.

Give examples of how you’ve used your skills to solve problems, but don’t ramble because the video should be 2-3 minutes long. Finish by stating your career objectives and thanking the viewer for their time. It’s also a good idea to express your eagerness to hear from them.

Using a mobile camera to record video

You can use your phone’s camera to film your video if it has a decent camera with high resolution and HD capabilities, like an iPhone. If it doesn’t, you are at risk of having a grainy and poorly lit film. If your phone isn’t up to the task, you might want to borrow a good digital camera or camcorder.

Cluttered background

A cluttered background can distract viewers and make it difficult for them to hear everything you have to say. In addition, it’s simply not aesthetically pleasing or professional. So, look for another location if your student apartment is filthy and you can’t find a quiet place to film your video.

Not dressed up to impress

You would dress well for an interview, so don’t dress sloppily for your video CV. Instead, make sure you’re well-dressed and groomed to impress your potential employer and boost your confidence, though you don’t have to wear a formal suit and tie.

You can wear something that makes you look professional yet comfortable. During a video resume shoot, you can’t go wrong with simple denim jeans and a checkered shirt.

Easy Tips to Create Video Resume

Have a quick look at these easy tips to create an attractive and impressive video resume;

Understand your target audience

Think about who will watch the video and adjust the script and location to fit their needs. For example, a video created for a position at an international bank may differ from one made for a start-up company.

Concentrate on a single experience or skill

Since your video resume is so brief, it is best to focus on a single topic. For example, you can discuss a specific project you excelled at or demonstrate a skill, such as a website coding. Add to your resume and cover letter by talking about something that is only mentioned in one of them.

Discuss an aspect not included in your application

If you left something out of your cover letters, such as volunteer experience or a specific skill, consider demonstrating it in your video. Consider talking about a hobby or an interest. Make it a point to demonstrate how your interest relates to the position, company, or industry.

Examine the company’s policies

If an employer asks for a video resume, make sure to follow any rules they give about what to include, how long it should be, how to edit it, and how to send it. Also, some employers might ask you to follow a certain prompt when making your video resume, so make sure your video meets their needs.

Video Resume Examples to Inspire

You can watch these job seekers’ video resumes to understand better how to create one for yourself:

Saji Nair

Saji Nair presents herself, her experience, and her related skills in a 90-second video and then summarizes why a company should hire her. With a plain white background and good lighting, she keeps the video professional.

Mark Leruste

In this video resume, Mark uses humor to show off his skills, experience, and education in a unique and interesting way. With this video resume, Mark was able to land his dream job!

Alex

In this video, Alex structures her CV more like a job interview, portraying both herself and an “interviewer” who questions her about her experience. She makes a simple, fun, and informative resume video with voiceover, animation, and photos.

How to Use a Video Resume to Land Your Dream Job?

Once you have created an exciting video resume, you can use it in several ways to land your dream job, such as:

You can upload your video resume to YouTube and easily share it with potential recruiters. Recruiters can also search your profile on YouTube.
You can also upload your video resume to Linkedin, Instagram, and other social media profiles.
Sharing your video resume on social media job groups is also a good idea to reach more people.
You can also add your video to your professional website or freelancing websites like Fiverr.

Let’s Record a Video Resume Now!

There you go, job seekers! You can now start recording and editing professional video resumes to land your first job.

This guide has provided you with everything you could possibly need to create a virtual resume. However, if you are a fresher or have no clue how to use this new resume technology, don’t worry.

The SkillPad team can provide you with 101 coaching sessions to help you land a good job. You can also use our resume templates to create a powerful resume in no time.

Let’s get in touch to learn more about video resume creation.

The skill gap and talent shortage are serious recruitment issues. According to McKinsey, 87% of respondents are already experiencing the talent gap.

The talent gap problem will become more difficult in the future as a result of high resignation rates and hybrid work environment demand.

A study shows that there won’t be enough people to fill 85 million job openings by 2030, which will cost $8.5 trillion.

Businesses can avoid this situation with the proper talent relationship management system. They can follow the candidate sourcing strategy to find the right talent for the

organization.

Let’s follow this guide to learn all about candidate sourcing.

What is Candidate Sourcing?

Candidate sourcing means finding the best people with the right skills, education, and interests for open jobs at your company or at the company of a client. Candidate sourcing looks for both active and passive candidates in order to find the best candidate for the job.

What is Candidate Sourcing Software?

Candidate sourcing software allows you to easily source, screen, and schedule interviews with candidates. In addition, modern candidate sourcing software lets you post to multiple job boards with a single click, create a personalized career page in minutes, efficiently screen candidates, and much more.

Candidate Sourcing Vs Recruiting: Key Differences

While sourcing and recruiting are distinct, they work well together. Sourcing lays the groundwork for successful recruitment.

As previously stated, sourcing is the process of looking for candidates, while recruiting is the process of evaluating them.

The first step in making a successful hire is to find candidates.

First, the hiring department figures out what qualifications and skills are needed, and then it looks for the best candidates. This sourcing goes beyond simply posting on a job board; it involves actively seeking out the talent you require and reaching out to them.

In these conversations, your recruiters would start talking to qualified candidates about the open role or future open roles, trying to get them to apply or find out how interested they were. But, again, the only reason to use sourcing is to build a reliable pool of applicants from which recruiters can pull when they need to hire people quickly.

The term “recruiting” refers to the entire hiring process. It involves finding qualified candidates to build a talent pool, going over resumes, holding interviews, and getting new employees up to speed.

Companies need a lot of people to choose from if they want to be sure they can do each of the steps above. As a result, sourcing should be an essential component of any recruitment strategy.

How Does Candidate Sourcing Work?

While the talent sourcing program varies from company to company, most recruiters include four basic steps in their process, which are as follows:

Developing a sourcing strategy and plan. This includes identifying candidates during the company’s culture and current or future positions. The step may also include determining where the sources will look for candidates.
Implementing the sourcing strategy and plan. Sourcers locate and network with the qualified candidates identified during the planning process. For example, connecting with people on social media, emailing and communicating with candidates, attending events, or browsing alumni and trade school events.
Assessing the talent pool. Once a sufficient number of candidates has been assembled, sourcers can vet the list to determine which candidates they believe fit in with the company and best fulfill the duties of a specific job.
Moving qualified candidates through the talent pipeline. Once recruiters have vetted their list for the best talent, they can pass it on to the people in charge of the talent pipeline—a smaller list of candidates deemed qualified to enter the hiring process.

Key Metrics to Consider While Sourcing Candidates

The key to competitively sourcing talent is to measure your sourcing process over time to optimize or realign resources invested in various sources.

Here are five diagnostic candidate sourcing metrics to monitor:

Key Metrics to Consider Candidate Sourcing

Time for source hiring

The metric is the time it takes to hire a candidate from the time they are first sourced. These metrics aid in allocating resources to channels that produce the right fit at the right time. It also helps you find and fix all bottlenecks in the hiring process, which affects the time it takes to hire someone.

Source-specific hiring costs

The metric allows you to track the returns on your sourcing investments, or ROI.

Candidate pipeline throughput

The candidate pipeline throughput, also called funnel throughput, is the rate at which candidates convert at each stage of the hiring process. It is especially effective for roles that hire frequently or in large numbers. It tells you how good the applicants are that come from a certain source, so you can figure out which sources or job boards work for you and which ones don’t.

Number of rejected candidates

The metric provides information on rejected candidates and the source from which they came. This allows you to identify rejection patterns and drop or adjust channels that do not bring candidates who are a good fit for your roles. For example, if you notice that most of your rejected candidates came from LinkedIn, you can either revise your job description or eliminate the channel.

Offer declined

There are many reasons why candidates turn down job offers, such as counter-offers from their current employers, not wanting to move, low pay, etc. If you know why a candidate turned down an offer, you can change your sourcing and recruiting methods to find and hire the right people.

Benefits of Using ATS for Candidate Sourcing

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a tool businesses and recruitment agencies use to manage the hiring process. It makes it easier to keep track of the best candidates from the time they apply until they are hired.

Employers can use this tracking software to find out about potential employees and qualified candidates and store that information. In addition, ATS can help implement talent sourcing strategies in many ways, such as:

Manage all your sourcing channels – job boards, career sites, referrals, social media, and so on – from a single platform.
Post jobs to all major job boards, including Indeed, Adzuna, LinkedIn, and ZipRecruiter, and manage them all from a single location.
Applicants from all sourcing channels will be funneled into a single system (the ATS) where you can manage them.
All conversations with candidates are kept in one place (the conversations tab). Your co-sourcers can consult them at any time!
Collaborate with your team on sourcing decisions, view candidate profiles, and leave comments for one another in a single, easily accessible location.
Archive the best candidates in a talent pool, engage with them, and invite them to pursue appropriate roles as they become available.
Create a thriving talent pool by saving the best profiles you find during the sourcing process.
Post jobs on social media and monitor their status in the applicant tracking system. As a result, it is now much easier to find social talent.
Improve your sourcing by obtaining reports on time to fill, cost per hire, and pipeline throughput.

Why Include Candidate Sourcing in Your Recruitment Strategy?

Adding candidate sourcing to your recruitment strategy can help reduce the resignation rate by hiring culture-fit candidates. It can also help with the following:

It raises the caliber of hires

When you actively seek out the best candidates, you better understand what the position and the company require, leading to better hires.

It broadens the hiring range

Talent sourcing helps organizations build a more diverse pool of candidates because it takes time to find the best person for an open position. Instead, they already have a pipeline of qualified candidates, which gives them more time and options for filling roles with more diverse talent.

It saves time and money on hiring

Talent sourcing cuts down on these costs because you’ll already have a pool of qualified candidates ready to fill jobs as they open up.

It strengthens your employer’s brand

The employer brand of a company is its reputation, and sourcing talent is a key part of building this brand.

When your company shows interest in candidates and keeps them up to date on open positions, initiatives, product updates, and employee stories, the company becomes more familiar and trustworthy to these passive candidates.

Best Candidate Sourcing Strategies

Here are some of the best candidate sourcing strategies to hire the perfect candidates for your job openings:

Re-engage with qualified dropped talent

If you take the time to find qualified candidates, you might end up with a good hire and candidates who are also qualified for other positions.

Utilize the past work of your team by starting each new search with the people who have already given your team time and who you have determined are qualified to work for your company. If you want to work well with candidates who have already been hired, you need to have a plan for how to get in touch with them.

Use offline recruitment strategies

There’s no denying that online channels increase your engagement. However, offline recruitment methods remain a powerful force. Going offline and meeting people in person at events is an excellent way to find new candidates.

For example, attend job-related, industry-specific conferences and events, or organize your meetups to bring together groups of people you want to meet.

Leverage your employee network

Organizations can increase their talent pool by recruiting through their employees’ networks. Hold candidate sourcing sessions with your team to find out if anyone in the networks of your employees would be a good fit for one of your open jobs.

Your employees can help you find untapped talent and get more candidates who know them to respond. For example, Facebook can show your employees different candidate search results based on their social graph, allowing you to find candidates you would not have found otherwise.

Get the right tool

Anyone who is sourcing has several balls in the air at the same time. Managing all that activity in documents and spreadsheets can quickly become overwhelming, but that’s what most recruiters had to do earlier.

When you use the right tools for recruiting, you can speed up your process, stay organized, and find the best candidates.

Top Candidate Sourcing Tools

Since we are on the topic of recruiting tools, let’s check out the best candidate sourcing tools:

Talentbin

Monster’s Talentbin is a massive database that contains millions of profiles. Its primary focus is locating passive candidates via boolean search and social media recruiting. They also give you a lot of information from candidates’ social media accounts that you can use to get in touch with them.

Zillionresumes

ZillionResumes.com is a resume aggregator that collects resumes from thousands of other sources. It provides you with the opportunity to find “hard-to-find” candidates. You can also get lists of resumes that match your search criteria from the platform.

HiringSolved

HiringSolved helps you find candidates from anywhere in the world and search in any language. It also has an interesting feature that lets you look for candidates who are similar to someone you upload to their system.

Parting Thoughts

Candidate sourcing tools can make it easy to find candidates for your organization using data-driven strategies. But artificial intelligence algorithms can help you only to a certain extent.

A humane approach is always essential to find the best candidate. And for that, you can always consult SkillPad.

We combine data-driven strategies with a human approach to find culture-fit candidates for your organization. We have a vast talent pool that can help you find the perfect candidate for a role.

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our data-driven and human-driven candidate sourcing strategies.