December 6, 2006
Posting Your Résumé on YouTube
Jonathan Caren (picture left) demonstrates his money-making prowess in the video he sent to employers.
"So far, the video résumés featured on YouTube have been posted mostly by people in entertainment or media, reports the WSJ, but it's spreading by job seekers in other fields-- especially among younger workers.
The videos, which are typically no more than a few minutes long, give applicants a more direct way to sell themselves.
They also help employers decide whom to bring into the office for a face-to-face interview, says Sarah White owner of White Consulting Group, which could save them time and money. "They might have 10 videos they can watch in half an hour, rather than bring in 10 people that will take two to three days to interview."
Holding many job seekers back, though, is the fear of making a fool of oneself -- or worse, sabotaging one's career. That's what happened recently to Aleksey Vayner, a Yale University student who applied for an investment-banking job with Swiss bank UBS AG. His video résumé -- which was entitled "Impossible Is Nothing" and featured him lifting weights, showing off his tennis serve and ballroom dancing -- was widely watched on YouTube and made Mr. Vayner an object of ridicule" - as well as a current event entry in Wikipedia .
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