Video resumes, popularly known as 'visumes' by applicants, has skyrocketed as an option of resume writing. It is visual representation of the resume where the applicant speaks about his strengths and capacities and convinces the employer of his suitability for the job. It is a very appealing technique of communicating with the employer where, along with the qualifications of the applicants, he can stress on his personality and creative abilities. However, it being a recent development, it is marred by certain shortcomings. Given below are the main 5 disadvantages of a video resume.
1) No Established Format for Video Resume
Video resumes are a recent development in the job market and thus is still undergoing changes. Till date, there is no set format for video resumes. There is no common layout for presenting a video resume as to what it should include, how it should be presented or how to give a flow to the contents. In such scenario, while it is still unclear what the employers look out for in video resumes, applicants tend to make blunders and spoil their chances of gaining an interview call.
2) Unavailability of the Technology
Not all recruiters might be using updated technology to be able to view the resume easily. It may happen that due to unavailability of superior broadband, high speed internet connection or compatible browser that is required to view the emailed video resumes, the employer is unable to view the resume and consider the applicant. Thus the applicant's effort at making a video resume goes in vain if the recruiter is unable to receive and view it. No technology is required to consider a paper resume and so absence of right technology is a disadvantage in case of video resumes.
3) Scope for Discrimination
Video resumes may lead to discrimination of the applicants by the employers on the basis of their looks, religion, gender or physical defects. A paper resume compels the recruiter to consider only the credentials of the applicant. They can hide other personal details that are not related to the job in any manner. It can lead to criminal lawsuit if a person is accepted or rejected on the basis of his appearance, race or physical deficiency.
4) Time Consuming
Video resumes are very time consuming for the employers to analyze and make decisions about the applicant. The recruiter will consider a paper resume of the applicant hardly for 30 seconds. Moreover, first few seconds are spent in picking out the relevant details. In case of video resumes, they last for 180 seconds minimum. The employer has to go through the entire video resume, as (in effort of choosing the relevant) forwarding the video might overlook few important details. Thus, analyzing video resumes is time consuming for the employer. From the applicant's perspective too, fitting in all of his details within few minutes is difficult. Applicants aiming for video resumes will have to do lot of thinking and prioritizing before finalizing the contents of their resume. They have to bring out the best of their abilities within the span of 3 minutes which becomes difficult at times.
5) Complex Procedure of Building Resumes
Drafting a paper resume is easy, convenient and cheap. On the other hand, video resumes involve the complex procedure of getting a camcorder, recording the video, editing and uploading it in the internet. The applicants need to be technique savvy to learn the procedure of making and uploading the video resume. Moreover, a slight mistake can ruin your chances of receiving the interview call.
Video resumes need to be developed more before they can replace the traditional paper resume. Only when the given 5 main disadvantages of video resumes are worked upon, they stand a chance of being the popular form resume writing. So far the tradition resume form remains the favorite among all for resume presentation.