Gotta admit…..it’s funny:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYaZ57Bn4pQ]

A friend of mine forwarded me a hysterical video about Human Resources.  I had posted it on the blog once before (several years back), but when I went to check it out, YouTube had removed the video from their library.  Tammie was kind enough to provide me with a new link.  If you get a chance, check it out.  You will laugh your ass off: 

A golden rule that Recruiting Nevada has followed for over 15 years is ‘do not monetize the jobseeker.’  So what exactly does monetize mean:  To selfishly profit from the trust you have built with a loyal audience.  Without jobseeker trust, applicants will not apply for jobs you advertise.  Without results, an advertising medium will lose its’ advertiser base. 

Well, the Review Journal has broke this golden rule.  They recently launched a product in an attempt to sell jobseekers, and make a few bucks.  And frankly this product is not needed by 99.9% of the Review Journal readers.  The product is the highly controversial video resume.  Most employers will not even look at video resumes for several reasons:

• A fear they may cause discrimination issues
• It takes too long to watch one, let alone source through hundreds
• It is difficult to identify key strengths and education that are easily found on paper
• And really…. a lot of front end sourcing is now done by computer automation

There are some professions where a video resume may make sense – like C-level positions, sales & marketing or a position where presentation skills are evaluated.  And for these types of  positions I would suggest using a professional such as Chris Jenkins over at Harrington and Reed.  Chris has been producing high-quality video resumes for years and has a track record of finding jobs for high caliber professionals using his videos. 

But for 90% of the jobs in Las Vegas, a video resume is a waste of time.  And the Review Journal is clearly looking to capitalize on these folks that just do not know any better.  When unemployment levels are the highest they have been, and advertising revenue for the RJ the lowest, the Review Journal is trying to take advantage of their reader.  How does the saying go…”desperate times lead to desperate measures.”  Well, shame on the Review Journal.  You should not put your selfish interests ahead of your readers.

CareerBuilder posted a very ‘risque’ video on You Tube last week.  It caused quite the stink on Cheezhead and was quickly removed.

The folks over at ERE discovered the video on another platform and have quite a bit of commentary on it here.

It is always interesting to watch players jockey for position in a down market.  Some take the high road, while others do not.  In the meantime, it does make for good entertainment.

This is absolutely hysterical:

A great article appeared in the Wall Street Journal this morning on how the way we recruit on the Internet is changing again.  A snippet from the article sets the storyline:

Advances in technology make the way jobs are found and filled online distinctly different from just a few years ago. Employers are now experimenting with innovative strategies for spreading their recruitment messages and screening candidates online. And Web-savvy job hunters are taking advantage of new Internet resources aimed at helping them make better career decisions.

You can read the entire article here. 

Thanks to Joel Cheesman for bringing the article to our attention (and congrats on the mention in the article).

The article talks about how companies are taking advantage of video profiles and how local job boards are becoming more and more popular. 

I encourage your to read the entire article.

Relocating professionals get a taste of companies through recruiting videos

LAS VEGAS – Nevada’s largest online job board, Recruiting Nevada, has partnered with California-based Vcruit.com to offer video recruiting ads to help businesses further introduce (brand) their company and its culture to potential employees.

Already up-and-running, the new partnership with Vcruit.com adds a new dimension to Recruiting Nevada’s services for employers looking to build a brand with job seekers. Through Vcruit.com , businesses can have professional quality videos produced and streamed to the Internet to enhance their company profile or highlight a specific position. Video will also be incorporated into Recruiting Nevada’s new relocation page as well to provide jobseekers with information on the quality of life Nevada offers.

“We’re always looking for new ways to attract even more people to Nevada,” said Doug Geinzer, founder and president of Recruiting Nevada. “Our affiliation with Vcruit.com allows us to showcase the best of what Nevada has to offer to jobseekers – both at work and throughout the community.”

Clark County, the College of Southern Nevada, Winder Farms and Nevada Cancer Institute are just a few companies that are already using the new Vcruit.com option with their listings.

More information about video recruiting on Recruiting Nevada can be found on their corporate website or to find open jobs in Nevada, visit RecruitingNevada.com or call 702-240-4100.

Recruiting Nevada diligently works on the front-line to strengthen Nevada’s economy through socially responsible recruiting to Nevada via the Web. Publishing the state’s largest Nevada-specific employment Web site, Recruiting Nevada attracts jobseekers in career fields across the board to Nevada job postings on RecruitingNevada.com.

A reader sent me an e-mail asking if we were successful in selling video job postings in the 1990s.  The short answer is “yes.”  We were successful in ’selling’ them, but video was not successful in producing response for our clients.

Let me share my experience (and story):

Our business model with the Las Vegas Employment News was proven.  Our clients were effectively measuring our results.  When measured by “cost-per-applicant” or “cost-per-hire” (which today are standardized metrics) we always ranked on top.  And – we provided our clients a money-back-guarantee on all of our advertising products if they were not the most cost-effective.

Let’s just say, it was not a very happy day for me when I learned we had to refund two months worth of revenues because video did not work. 

We sold-out each program with 20 second slated messages and 30 second commercials.  Clients flocked to the idea of adding audio and video to what were once one-dimensional print ads.  Clients loved bringing their employment brand to life.  The problem was – very few jobseekers ever saw it.  The Internet was in its’ infant stages in 1995 so virtually no one had a website.  The videos were produced for Employment Television, nothing else.  Unless we were able to convince, or capture, a jobseeker between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. – we did not have a viewership.  And our viewers quickly became bored watching 20 and 30 second messages for job advertisements that were not relevant or they were not qualified for.

Furthermore, every ad that was on Employment Television was already in our newspaper.  So a jobseeker could quickly flip thru the pages and find exactly what they were looking for and apply by the time the first commercial break would come on. 

Today - the Internet changes the dynamics.  Jobseekers can control the medium.  They search and watch only what they want, when they want and where they want. 

I am confident video recruitment ads are here to stay.

And if you are wondering - did we really live up to our ‘money back guarantee’ – we did.  I personally visited each and every client and either gave them their money back, or offered them double the amount in future print advertising.  There were several companies that did not pay for advertising for many, many months.  As the saying goes – “there are good days and then there are learning days.”  Let me tell you – that was more than a learning ‘day.’  We paid dearly for that mistake.  But clients respect the fact that we fulfilled our promise.  Many vendors do not. 

We have officially added video to RecruitingNevada.com!  Check it out:

We have been testing video for quite some time (actually since 1995 when we brought Employment Television to Las Vegas).  The Internet adds a new dimension to video.  Jobseekers can watch it ‘on-demand’ rather than being forced to watch it at a predetermined time slot.  For example – Employment Television was on Monday-Friday, 9:00-9:30 a.m. on WB-33 when they still operated.  The problem was – we had a limited audience due to the limited time frame.

Today, the Internet allows a jobseeker to view their choice of videos when they want to and where they want to.  Also – bandwidth has assisted in video becoming widely accepted.  Most have high-speed Internet access today in their home or at their workplace.

We will focus more on the company-level (company profile) videos rather than the job level.  We will also introduce video for relocation content.  Considering our target market (relocating professional) does not live here yet, video will be very helpful in painting a compelling picture. 

I look forward to your feedback!

Joel Cheesman (Cheezhead), one of the most respected bloggers in the recruitment blogosphere, reported that CareerTV is ditching its video resume service.  CareerTV touts itself as being one of the most trafficked career video websites.  They stated that employers were not embracing video resume search.

This is easy to understand as a good recruiter can scan a paper or digital resume in less than a minute to find core skill sets they are in search of.  It would take more than a minute just to get through the “tell us a little about your self” portion of a video resume.

Although, I do not see video resume search becoming popular, I will say again, that I see video resumes becoming a complimentary component for a candidate that will be representing an employer in the public eye.