The video resume - and how it can be used for a resignation!

There is a lot of debate at present about both the Online Resume and Video Resume at present. But one thing that should be remembered about all CV's and resumes is that - evidence follows you everywhere in the new online world.

For instance, how about using the media of video to resign?

Birmingham Mail journalist Adam Smith - aka Steve Zacharanda - decided he wanted to support the campaign of Barack Obama: but how would he persuade his editor that he could go to America? He decided to choose a swing-state, and as he couldn't pronounce Ohio, decided to go to - Miami, Florida (wonder why a UK journalist would want to go to sunny Florida in the damp, cold UK autumn?).

After Obama won, Smith had to deliver the promised article to his editor, so dutifully logged in to the Birmingham Mail web system from Miami in the after-win party, to record his copy. However, he got caught on video somewhat worse for drink by one of his Dutch colleagues.......



Videoed in a drunken stupor, Smith admits that he has had lots of fun with local ladies, and is now plagiarising the BBC for his filed copy: oh, and decides to hand in his notice while being interviewed.

This resultant video has been much viewed and resultantly reported and blogged about, in both the Birmingham Mail and many of the Fleet Street and US National Newspapers.

A few thoughts:
- The speed at which anything can be distributed today is amazing. For example, just see the Vodafone advert where the child watches Manchester Untied on a South East Asian Beach. But even quicker is the speed at which any potential employer can also find such stuff on the web. As I have suggested, why not checkout your own Google-resume?
- I wonder if Adam Smith still has a job at the Birmingham Mail, and if so is he covering anything more now than the local council meetings while he works his notice?
- How will he write this down on his next CV: bring enough to collect 50,000 hits on YouTube, or daft enough to get drunk and resign on video?

And PS: Adam, if you are reading this - NO, I don't want the job of how to write your next CV!!!

But still, as always - Good Luck!

CV/Resume formatting - what works best?

Charles asks: Has anyone ever heard of anyone doing any research on fonts, type size and other formatting in regards to resume submittals? If so, what was the outcome? If not, what are your thoughts? Is there a preferred font, type size, color or format that you would consider a competitive advantage for resumes? Also interested in thoughts about standard formats and logo headers from agency recruiters - do they help or hurt the value of the resume to the client?

In answer:
The primary issue of any CV/Resume is that it should communicate to the reader that the candidate more than addresses the skill and competency requirements of the specified job.

Part of that communication is met in the form of presentation of the CV/Resume, which primarily should be neat, well organized and easy to read. Only in the creative fields should it vary from black font on white paper with no photograph; while in the educational format a Curriculum Vitae is a formalised presentation of information, which would extends beyond the most effective format of two pages.

What research has been done on font types relates to business letters and communication, where Times New Roman is seen as more professional, while Arial is seen as more creative and personal. Both are forms of serif fonts, which in general have little lines that come off of tops, bottoms and end of each letter, thus making them easier to read.

Which ever your choice, use standard serif fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Mariandra) and avoid fancy bullets (arrows, stars ...). Most HR/candidate management systems use scanning technology, and resultant font degradation is better coped with by the reader using these standard type fonts. With this in mind, which ever font you choose I wouldn't go below a 10-point font, and don’t over vary font type, scale or use excess bolding/underlining throughout your CV/Resume.

However, this doesn’t mean that every commercial/non-creative candidate CV/Resume looks exactly the same in layout, with clear variances in Skills based versus Chronological, and others in information/skill order - if you have served half you career in one field, and the other half in another, you place the most relevant piece to that job at the top. Things that should be addressed should include: Summary, Skills, Certifications, Professional Experience, Educations& training; and Affiliations - thus giving a step by step approach to your career.

You can't get around an “irrelevant to this post” skill set or poor work history by making a CV/Resume look pretty: you will only help an employer remember a bad work history by calling attention to it with bright colors, fancy fonts and slick graphics – at this early stage it is more of exclusion decision by the employer/recruiter over an inclusion exercise.

Hence, the same candidate for the same position can be presented in multiple ways, and the best layout/format of the resultant CV/Resume is the one that gets the employer to pick up the phone and ask the candidate for an interview.

Good Luck!

The visual CV or online Resume

The visual CV/Resume is a modern internet format of the classical printed on wood pulped paper CV/Resume – but is it necessarily better, or ideal?

In simplicity, a visual CV/Resume is an online version of your paper CV/Resume. So, you might be thinking then that you just upload your existing MSWord version, and life would be complete?

Well, the various online CV/Resume format providers normally add a few features – like adding a photograph; a few links to your websites and blogs; sometimes even your social book marking or networking pages; and an Amazon link to your latest book, etc. Take the impressive Guy Kawasaki’s page for instance at VisualCV – how cool is Guy’s?

OK, hang on a minute:
- You say that you are not photogenic, and are not as good looking as say Jennifer Anniston?
- You don’t yet have any networking links, as you were a corporate employee for 20years and then didn’t need that sort of thing – it was only when you got made redundant that you did; and unlike Guy, you haven’t got a book to promote?
- Much as though you have spent the last 20years in book keeping, you have a keen amateur interest in plumbing, and now want to change career paths – and yet everything on your existing CV/Resume references book keeping?

I think in certain cases, the online CV has some great advantages……

- You are a visual or arts career based person, and you need a portfolio
- You are a design or creative career based person, and need to show off your capabilities. In this case, I don’t think the standard format visual CV/Resumes will ever adequately show off your talents, so design your own visual portfolio
- You were born a project manager, you trained in project management from kindergarten/primary school through university, and all you have ever done so far in your career is project management, and that’s what you want to do until you leave this earth/retire. That is the only way you will not need to take a generic approach, and everything will always be applicable to every job you apply for

And then it has some distinct disadvantages - when was the last time you updated your visual CV/Resume? OK, that’s true of the paper CV, but you don’t publish that one to the world do you?

Ever thought about why most online CV/Resume services are free? Because they don’t make their money out of candidates, they make their money out of recruiters like me paying to find people to fill jobs. And the more people they have, the more they can charge us recruiters to find people with the right skills. They don’t care whether it’s the right format for you – they just care about volume of candidates, which is their payline.

It is well known in the recruitment industry that certain jobs board dBases are better for certain types of candidates than others – Monster is good for one thing, JobSite for another, etc. So much as though the online CV providers suggest that its better to be posted in more places/off the jobs boards – a majority of recruiters just don’t look around, because the more dBases you are a member of the more it costs you: and you know that certain places don’t house the candidates you want.

So, a visual CV/Resume is good for the artistic photogenic type, who’s always wanted to do what they are doing and who can maintain it regularly. What does that sound like to you – sounds like a career portfolio to me. And that’s where I think the online CV/Resume falls down. Many of the business networking sites ask you to add a few details of your business, and your career. Here are mine at:

- Ecademy
- LinkedIn
- Xing

These are all portfolio career summaries – but are they online CV/Resumes? No, because they focus primarily on business sales pitches, and historic generic career histories. To be a CV/Resume of good enough quality to get you a telephone call and a date for a job interview, they would need to be focused on a specific job application. One of the generic and inbuilt problems of the online CV/Resume, particularly when you are applying for multiple jobs, is that it has to stay generic – most open denominator, applicable to all possible jobs and career paths.

To my mind, most of the visual CV products are at best generic portfolio’s or extended calling cards – they are not CV/Resumes of a focus quality which will get you a job.

So, is there a role for the visual CV? Most undoubtedly – yes! Here’s a thought – if you have an online visual CV/Resume, why direct someone there if all you are going to give them is online access to your CV/Resume? While you have them there, why not show them what you can do – make it a portfolio! Here are three that to my mind make sense:

- The BBC News Presenter Kate Silverton – a modern interpretation of the artistes portfolio. Love those black and silver colours, and inclusion of video
- America web designer Jake Strawn – if I had a job Jake could fill, I would employ him: tomorrow
- American Lecturer on Technology, Jim Groom – great use of space, and old (hence free) graphics

In summary:
- Online CV/Resumes are fine if you accept the restrictions of the visual format, and the generic nature of the written content
- Most of the products are at best generic calling cards/extended portfolio’s – they will not be focused enough to get you an interview
- The reason you don’t pay is because the Recruiters do – make sure your target audience recruiter or HR department have used that product: look for jobs like the one you are looking for, even the employers
- Where visual CV/Resumes do make sense in your career, give people a reason to go there – make it a portfolio!

Good Luck!

What social media/networking sites are must-haves for job-seekers?

Heidi asks: What social media/networking sites are must-haves for job-seekers? And how are they best used? I'm looking for two-part advice (a) your favourite connection sites and (b) how you use them to connect and promote yourself whether you're looking for work or not. Thank you!

In answer:
A friend of mine is an online marketeer, and he says - and from my experiences, I agree - that much like a vurtual White Pages telephone directory, that you can find anyone by using three SN's: LinkedIn; a Social Network (the likes of Facebook or possibly MySapce); and an in-country or in-region business network.

I would add to that for job seekers using other online resources - a Jobs board like Monster and/or Craigslist; and Twitter is a key tool: amazing to see who is listening using TwitterSearch!

Tactically, Twitter works best on a key stages basis (thinking about changing job; dusting down an old CV/Resume; looking at job pages, etc); while the rest are best addressed by changing the words on your profile to make it clear you are a job seeker; and asking questions in forums like this - which is what you are doing at present!

It's really just about letting people know you are looking, and then defining what you are looking for - those who do the first bit, but don't know what they want in the second often later post about how bad their job seeking is going: so always think and be clear about your goals.

Good Luck!