Following a year fraught with pandemic-related unemployment, job openings in the US hit a record high in June—a trend that continued into July. As the demand for workers persists amid the country’s reopening, experts say video resume platforms could be a helpful tool for job seekers hoping to find the perfect fit with their next position. “Where TikTok is coming from, as well as other providers, is excellent because it gives job seekers the opportunity to use the media of video in addition to just text…for showing value to prospective employers,” Brad Taft, chief career strategist at Taft Career Group, told Lifewire in an interview by phone.
What’s Old Is New Again
“Video resumes have been around, actually, for quite a while…” Taft said. “It started with companies doing actual video interviews, and it kind of evolved from a live question-and-answer to recording yourself answering a list of questions that the employer provided.” Platforms like TikTok Resumes are an evolution from that older method, according to Taft. With newer platforms, though, the emphasis has shifted away from recorded Q&A’s to focus on the job seeker’s enthusiasm and communication skills. “This is really an evolution from that [former] application—and it’s a good one,” Taft said. “[Job seekers can] not only can respond to inquiries from an employer about a specific job, but there is also an opportunity for the job seeker to provide information about themselves via video—they could develop a video resume that’s available for companies to check out.”
Benefits All Around
According to Taft, video resumes can offer benefits for both job seekers and employers searching for the perfect candidate. “It’s that added dimension of being able to communicate in not only words, but also with video, about a person’s background,” Taft said. “So it gives the job seeker the opportunity to explain their background, show their communication skills, bring out such factors as their enthusiasm, what motivates them toward the world of work, how they communicate their skills, knowledge and experience.” That added dimension can help recruiters determine how qualified a candidate might be for a specific position or company. “A recruiter certainly has an opportunity to get a feel for a person’s [verbal] communication skills,” Taft said. “Obviously, you don’t necessarily see that on a [paper] resume.”
Standing Out
One of the unique benefits of video resumes, according to Taft, is the ability for a candidate to express themselves and let their personality shine to prospective employers. To compete in a digital ocean filled with highly skilled competition, Taft explained there are ways job seekers can stand out—though in many ways the process isn’t much different from preparing a standard resume. “My advice for preparing a video resume is the same as I provide to individuals who I’m working with to develop a written resume,” Taft said. “And that is to think about what information you want to impart that supports your current career objectives and allows you to demonstrate it—not just declare [your] value.”
A New Generation of Job Seekers
Despite the availability of TikTok’s new service and others like it, social media users may still prefer more traditional avenues. Although Gen Z makes up the highest percentage of TikTok users, only 5% of Gen Z respondents said they planned to use social media to look for a job in a recent survey from career platform Tallo. Despite the wide availability of social platforms, the majority of respondents said they preferred more traditional methods for finding work—44% preferred using job search websites, while 41% said they preferred applying directly through a company’s website. Still, Taft said video resumes can be useful for job seekers looking for the perfect fit due to the unique qualities of video going beyond traditional print resumes. “It’s a great use of technology—for both the job seeker as well as the prospective employer,” Taft said.
