Give yourself the edge in an interview by turning it into a business meeting.  What do I mean by that?  Let the conversation flow and instead of waiting until the end of the interview when the interviewer says, “Now, do you have any questions for me?” and outlining your three prepared questions – let the questions flow from the answers you’re giving to the interviewer’s questions.  Once this flow gets going the conversation becomes more like a business meeting and less like an interview.

 

Here’s an interesting thing to consider: with the exception of recruiters most of the people that are interviewing you HATE to conduct interviews – and if they haven’t done much interviewing they will be as nervous as you are.  If you control the conversation, ask questions and put your interviewer at ease, they will like you that much more!

Should you have a Video Resume?  My short answer is NO!  Don’t do it.  No matter how cool and cutting edge you think it is – its just not a good idea. 

 

On the surface it seems great – how better than to show how witty, charming and outgoing you are than by having your resume convey that!  A paper resume does little to nothing to showcase your personality.  So, if you are witty, charming and photogenic then a video resume may seem like the answer. 

 

But, the truth is, recruiters hate them – hiring managers don’t have time to watch them – and HR regards them as a lawsuit waiting to happen.  (The “I didn’t get the interview because of the way I look.” kind of lawsuit.)  Many companies will not accept resumes with a photograph on it, let alone a video.  So, in truth, you are doing yourself a disservice because many companies (and I assure you all companies with an employment law savvy HR professional) will delete it before they even open it, relegating you to the status of not even being considered.

 

So, my stance on Video Resumes is ‘Just Say No!’