You oughta be in pictures

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, I figure a video is worth a million," said Allen Ulbricht, CEO of Real Nice Software in Atlanta.

As a product manager applying for a more technical, internal job with EarthLink last winter, Ulbricht found a way to stand out from other applicants. He bought a Web camera, wrote a script, set up lighting in his room and filmed a two- to three-minute video to go with his written résumé.

"I thought about what they might ask me, posed those questions to myself and answered them, so the video was tailored for this specific job," Ulbricht said. It took him four hours.

He posted it on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rAKA7enbwY) and went to a Web site called TinyURL to shorten the link, then included it on his written résumé and in e-mail letters to the hiring managers.

"It did its job and got me an interview," Ulbricht said. "They not only looked at it but told me they liked it."

If he'd been applying for an accountant's job, Ulbricht said he probably wouldn't have done it, but he wanted to prove that he had Web 2.0 skills and was up on the latest trends.

"I could tell them that I was technically savvy, but there's nothing like just doing it," he said.

The video also showed that he was serious about the job, because he was willing to go above and beyond the application process.

"You're limited on a paper résumé in what you can say and how you can stand out from the crowd," Ulbricht said. "I have an outgoing personality, and I wanted to express who I am and show them something of my sense of humor."

He later decided the job wasn't what he had thought, so he started Real Nice Software, a business-to-business software solutions company, in March.

"If it were an appropriate situation, I'd jump at the chance to create another video résumé, because it was a positive experience for me," Ulbricht said.

Video résumés aren't new. Hollywood has been doing them for decades, only they were called screen tests. The ability to present oneself on camera always has been a key to getting jobs in acting or broadcasting. With cheaper, easy-to-use technology and high-speed Internet access — and a plugged-in generation used to communicating electronically through Facebook and YouTube — video résumés are inching their way into the traditional job-search process.

Despite Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerns that video résumés may leave companies open to discrimination lawsuits, more consulting companies and online job-search sites are helping job-seekers create and post video résumés. In a 2007 Video Résumé Survey conducted by Vault Inc., only 17 percent of the 310 employers surveyed said that they had viewed a video résumé, but 89 percent said they would watch one if it was submitted.

Spherion, a recruiting and staffing agency, has been using a tool called "Softvu" for three years to differentiate its job candidates and give them an edge in the market.

"We tell our corporate clients that we're not just going to send paper résumés of prospective candidates. We're going to introduce them through this fantastic tool, where they can see them and hear them," said Kim Kilgoar, a Spherion recruiter in the Kenne-saw office.

Spherion's offices have video rooms, where candidates can practice and record 30- to 45-second clips to introduce themselves, hit the highlights of their résumés and share job strengths. The idea is to give a snapshot of the person and his or her credentials — a general elevator pitch that can be saved and sent, as needed.

"We send the video via e-mail with the traditional résumé, and clients can view it and send it on to others in the decision-making process," Kilgoar said.

The video is not mandatory, but Spherion recruiters encourage candidates to become comfortable with the process and to speak with high energy so that their personalities come through, because they've seen it work.

"We've had a lot of luck using this tool, and candidates have had a lot of calls as a result. We've even gotten new accounts because of it," Kilgoar said.

The video résumé, she said, gives job-seekers an additional opportunity to sell themselves. "Hiring managers can see that a person is articulate and that his or her personality would fit with the corporate culture," she said.

Like a phone interview, it gives hiring managers added information before bringing a candidate in for a face-to-face meeting. However, a video offers both a voice and a visual impression.

Kurt Baumberger, president and CEO of MarketSquare Solutions in Atlanta, uses video as a tool to help his commercial clients educate their employees or inspire their customers. Seeing the networking possibilities in video, Baumberger launched MyPersonalBroadcast.com in April to help younger job-seekers.

The site offers tutorials in how to network, conduct a job search and write a video résumé script. It already has 5,000 subscribers. Members can create and upload videos and written documents to the site and send them to potential employers or recruiters via e-mail.

A unique variation with My Personal Broadcast is that it tracks who downloads and watches the videos and alerts candidates via e-mail so they can follow up quickly on prospective opportunities.

"This generation is the most electronically networked in history, but most don't know how to take advantage of all the people they know when it comes to finding out about career paths, an internship or job prospects," Baumberger said. "We know that 85 percent of jobs are found through networking, yet most colleges are still advocating the traditional model of sending out cover letters and written résumés."

He sees video as a great way to obtain an informational interview to explore an industry or company as well as to apply for a job.

"Managers make about 50 percent of a hiring decision based on a skill set; the other 50 percent is the person. Why not use a medium that allows someone to showcase her unique personality, passion and enthusiasm and close with a call to action, such as asking for an interview?" Baumberger said. "[With a video], you're inviting them to respond. You're engaging them in a dialogue, and that's more compelling.

"It can be an important augmentation to the written résumé document, but it isn't meant to replace it."

While embracing and using new technology can show that someone is innovative, creative and tech-savvy, the video needs to be professional.

"Don't do anything on camera that you wouldn't do in an interview," Baumberger advised.

As a senior at the University of Dayton, Lindsey Tamplin sent out traditional résumés and attended job fairs, but she also created a video résumé through My Personal Broadcast.

"With so many people graduating and job-hunting, if you don't find a way to stand out, companies will pass you by," Tamplin said.

Following the site's guidelines for her short clip, Tamplin talked about her personality, college major and other interests and described why she would be a good job candidate. The offer she accepted from a freight brokerage company in Cincinnati came through a job fair, but she was glad she'd tried video.

"I noticed that, when I sent out my video résumé, I heard back from companies sooner," she said. "I definitely think that this idea will catch on in the future."

Sarah Hamilton, a sophomore at the University of Virginia who helped Baumberger see how college students use technology to connect and market themselves, agreed.

"Facebook and YouTube are a new way of communicating. I think my generation might latch onto video résumés as a means of selling themselves when it comes time to find a job," she said. "It's a viable means of getting the information out."