#120 Regretting Creating the Video Resume That Went Viral

These days there are several ways to catch the attention of hiring companies. Of course, these days everyone is competing against everyone and their mother, brother, cousin, etc. Besides trying the CareerBuilder no-no’s, because CareerBuilder provides such great job advice, such as neon colored and scented resumes or showing up like a raging maniac at the hiring desk to get HR’s attention, the unemployed often have to figure out other ways to make themselves stand out. The video resume, although daunting, can be an effective method of attempting to get a job. While it allows for a more personable approach and a chance to be “face to face” with the hiring company, the video resume can also be a great way to scare off potential employers forever.

Some people just aren’t meant to be on video. Nixon, anyone? And while some people might always watch their video resume performance and cringe at the moments they smiled too big, or notice a facial tick for the first time, they will never have to worry about their video resumes going viral for millions to critique and tear apart. The ones who end up looking like the biggest dorks/jerks in their video resumes are the ones who decide they want to be zany, over the top, or go above and beyond the typical method of sitting in front of the video camera listing off positive attributes to do something insanely mortifying. Like this guy, Aleksey Vayner, whose video resume “Impossible is Nothing!” was such a laughingstock, he had to drop out of Yale, and surprisingly was not hired for the job he applied for. Learn from Aleksey. Approach creating a video resume like creating a video profile for a dating company - unless you don’t fear turning someone off forever, keep it simple, stupid.

Tags: Aleksey Vayner, impossible is nothing, job searching, unemployment fail, video resume