Can a 90-Second Video Adequately Reflect a job Candidate?

 In a world where technology is making things more convenient almost every day, cutting time spent on doing particular tasks and making us lazier than ever before (like it or not) it has become absolutely essential to join the bandwagon or be left out looking like the uninformed village idiot. Okay, technology also has its advantages and time is money.

A website by the snazzy name of ElevatorTalent is bringing broadcast technology into the lives of all the recruiters and job seekers out there. Their latest offering entitled CView aims at enriching, improving and accelerating the recruitment process for people on both sides of the fence. The company claims that this is the future of smart recruitment because it saves time and money.

To begin with, it allows job seekers to post a 90-second video along with your CV on the website that interested recruiters and HR professionals can watch once they have shortlisted a candidate. The video gives recruiters and prospective employers a more personalized look at the candidate as well as learn about their skills in front of a camera.

On a personal note, I’m not sure everyone looks good on camera and then we always have those who are camera-shy. Nonetheless, it does provide a window previously alien to recruiters. And perhaps people like myself need to lose their camera-shyness.

An advantage may be the anytime, anywhere accessibility for recruiters and hiring firms, especially in cases where the recruiter and job seeker may be located in different time zones. Moreover, as a recruiter or employer, you can further shortlist your short list once you get a hang of it. Eventually, the service would eliminate the first round of the interview process if the candidate has used the video to give you details you actually need.

On the other hand, once you’ve studied a candidate’s résumé thoroughly and seen an introductory video where the prospect talks about their aspirations, strengths and capacities you may reach a point where you are able to decide whether or not you wish to hire this person or take the interview process to the next stage.

In case you decide to take it to the next step, the video posted by the candidate may help you determine what questions you wish to ask and which areas of their professional timelines need more clarification. Candidates will also have to figure out how to appear more hirable and what to say in their 90 seconds of fame.

One thing’s for sure, this recruitment service does give you more than just the black and white paper CV. It could work to the advantage of someone who might be very presentable and almost perfect for a position but may not have a CV to match his/her professional skills.

The creators of Elevator are the same people who brought you Aztec Facilities and promise the same core brand values that Aztec maintained for 20 years.

“Given the way people now consume, create & share content, we think it’s a natural & logical idea to embrace some aspect of video within the HR function – video interviews may still be seen as a step too far right now, but the enhancement to the process & benefits to the bottom line CView offers is extremely potent,” Founder Elevator Paul Johnson said.

So, what do you think? Is it fair to judge people on 90-second videos posted on this website? Are you comfortable with the concept?

Irrespective of your views, we’d like to hear them for the sake of technology and the future of recruitment.