Beyond your typical resume: videos, websites and blogs

With the advent of simple websites, blogs and video sharing, many job hunters are trying creative tactics to get human resource departments to notice their resumes. Almost universally, these new types of resumes depend on the Internet for distribution, and some take a little bit of know-how to set up.

It doesn’t take much film a short video and upload it to YouTube. But it takes some effort to make sure that both you and your video look professional. But before you pull out the camcorder, think about the reasons that human resource managers might not be so excited to see your video resume.

• HR departments are used to paper resumes. They can process a resume in ten seconds. A minute-long video takes six times as long as their usual allotment. Many HR managers interpret videos as more work for them.
• Video resumes open up human resources managers to accusations of discrimination. Application processes are designed to minimize those accusations, and stepping outside of the norm makes it harder on HR departments to do their jobs.
• Not all HR managers are used to dealing with new technology. They may be able to reply to an e-mail but if there’s a problem getting your video to run, they aren’t going to spend more than a minute on it.

Posting your resume as part of a blog or website can have its benefits – generally a human resource manager feels safer clicking on a link to your website than opening an attachment that might carry a virus. But it is still important to make sure that your website looks professional and clean; don’t use fancy fonts or strange formatting. You’ll also want to make sure that your website loads quickly, with no large picture files or pop-ups. There are many free options to set up a blog or website, but this may be one situation that you want to invest in a domain name. You might look at sites like GoDaddy to see if your actual name is available. Using your MySpace page as a resume is a big no-no, though. MySpace, and other social networks, will make you appear unprofessional.

Websites are also ideal if you are looking for any type of creative situation. You can display your portfolio without making expensive copies for every potential employer. But portfolios are not just artists. If you are a programmer, you could put screenshots of applications you’ve written in your portfolio. If you are a public relations consultant, you can put sample press releases you’ve written.

No matter what you put on your website, you should also include a version that is easy to print and download. A pdf is the best option, because even HR managers that use word processors other than Microsoft Word typically have a pdf reader on their computer.

No matter what way you decide to demonstrate your abilities to prospective employers, make sure that you do have just a plain old-fashioned resume prepared. Many human resource departments will refuse anything different from the resumes they are used to seeing.