Lights, Camera, Action

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the emergence of video resumes. Will they catch on? Are they helpful or hurtful to candidates? To employers? Do video resumes take online recruiting and job search to the next level–the vaunted Web 2.0–or are they simply yet another Internet fad that will fade away when the marketing dollars run out and the media moves on?

All of those questions are important, I suppose, but I think they detract us from the larger issue. What’s that? How can video be used in recruiting? Certainly, crafting personal resumes is one way, but it’s by no means the only option. In fact, I think there’s a far more powerful way to deploy visual images and sound in the War for the Best Talent online. I believe video is the key to a whole new genre of employee testimonials.

Employee testimonials have long been recognized as a key recruitment communication and marketing tool. The best talent are good consumers. They don’t take organizational claims about employment brands at face value. They look for proof. And, some of the most persuasive proof is the testimony of their peers. In employment collateral and in the Career area on corporate sites, what employees have to say–as long as it’s not sugar-coated or lackey-like–more effectively shapes candidate perspectives about an employer than any other single factor.

Traditionally, employee testimonials have been presented as text statements often accompanied by a picture of the individual. Done well, they provide a window into the organization that ratifies its claims about what it’s like to work there. They put a human face on the organization which makes it easier for a candidate to relate to the employer and, no less important, to those who will be their peers.

Text-based testimonials clearly get the job done, but I think testimonials presented in a video format could have an even more powerful impact. Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking about marketing videos that introduce the organization. These have been around for several years and are increasingly common on corporate Web-sites. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they are not employee testimonials. They may include an employee statement or two, but they are basically about the organization.

Video-based employee testimonials, on the other hand, are about the people who work for an organization. They use visual images and audio to tell a story–their story–about what it’s like to work for their employer. They will sell the organization, but only if they are engaging and credibly describe (or suggest) the nature of the individual’s employment experience.

Two recent examples will illustrate my point. They are imperfect, but still intriguing. Both were created without “corporate involvement.” In fact, they are nothing more than lip synching coupled with some group pantomiming and crude sets. However, each in its own way says something that is especially engaging about the culture of an employer and the pride felt by its employees for the work that they do.

You’ll find the first testimonial at this address: http://www.vimeo.com/173714. (For those who are squeamish about lyrics, please be warned.) It was created by a group of employees in a single take one day after work. Without so much as a marketing phrase or formal endorsement, it makes a bold statement about the employment experience the company offers. Does the video work? It was posted on a video sharing site and quickly became one of its most popular (i.e., viewed) shows. Here’s what some of the viewers wrote in response (with a little editing from me): “I would rather work there over any other job.” “Would even move to another country to get a job with people like you guys …” “O.K., two questions: Where do you people work? Can I have a job?”
The second testimonial is posted here: http://www.jumpcut.com/view?id=543017AC408011DC90D5000423CF381C. It was created by an intern at Yahoo! who simply wanted to tell his friends about where he worked and what he did. He rewrote the lyrics to a popular rap, rolled some video and posted the result on a video sharing site. It doesn’t earn universal acclaim, but 16 viewers gave it a heart, indicating they love it.

What can we learn from these first generation video testimonials? I think the following are the key lessons:

Video testimonials work best when they are positioned to be viral. That means they should be posted on video sharing sites as well as in the Career area on corporate Web-sites.
Much more than their text-based counterparts, video testimonials depend upon authenticity. They should not be staged corporate productions, but rather individual (or group) creations that express the essence of an organization’s employment experience.
A video testimonial is not simply a film of a text-based message. Rather, it is a visual presentation that draws on sound and motion as well as images to deliver a persuasive and memorable confirmation of an organization’s employment brand.

Thanks for reading,

Peter




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