Wall Street Hasn't Tuned Into Video Resumes

While the Journal says more job hunters - mostly in the media and entertainment worlds - are producing video clips and posting them on sites like YouTube, investment banks and recruiters tell us the practice is rare in the financial world. Banks - none of whom would comment to eFinancialCareers on the record - say they rarely or never receive video resumes. And recruiters believe their use is a non-issue.

"I'm unaware that it's a common practice, or that companies or recruiters are looking for them," says Mary O'Gorman, managing director at Snelling Search in New York. Demand aside, O'Gorman believes video resumes rob both recruiters and candidates of the chance to size each other up. "I think you can tell a lot about someone by speaking with them on the phone and from their resume," she says. And, she believes, having that real conversation allows both parties to get a better feel for each other. "I think it's risky for candidates not to have that give and take."

Josh Tamis, a senior recruiter at Blue Streak Partners in New York, agrees that video resumes don't have much of a buzz on Wall Street. "I haven't heard much about video resumes at all," he says. However, he believes that in time recruiters could see video resumes as a time-saving tool. "If you had a video, it could streamline the process," he observes. "You could see if a candidate had certain qualities you're looking for. I could see it catching on at some point."

Of course, employers and recruiters need to be concerned about anti-discrimination laws, which prohibit them from making hiring decisions based on race, age and similar issues. For the same reason they immediately discard photographs that accompany job applications, your effort in front of the camera may be wasted if an employer's lawyers have advised them not to even watch it.