Video: Lifestyle

video transcript

Video may have killed the radio star, but Aurora Bellingham is hoping it will also help her get a job. SOT She's signed up to the recruitment agency Meet The Real Me every applicant is asked to answer a few questions in front of a video camera. Here's what she sees "To begin with, tell me a little bit about you. What are your main extra curricular activities? And what do you get out of them?" SOUNDBITE: Aurora Bellingham speaking to camera saying (English): "I'm energetic, outgoing and a confident person. I enjoy dancing. I wish I liked singing but I'm not very good. In my spare time I like getting involved..." If she's happy with the answer, she hits a button. And then repeats the process for two additional questions. A paper CV may be a useful document when determining a potential candidate's qualifications. It's what it doesn't say that gave rise to this new approach says Brian Michael of MeetTheRealMe. SOUNDBITE: Brian Michael, MeetTheRealMe Manager saying (English)" "I was an employer and I was really frustrated with CVs coming to me and I really had no idea what was behind the CV. What kind of person - I had recruitment agents telling me they were the best things since sliced bread, and then they'd walk into my office and I thought they'd never ever fit into my organization. Critically, I had no way of testing communication skills so the idea was well why don't I have a piece of video?" Alan Cairns is the HR director at Moneysupermarket.com. He spoke to Reuters on a Skype video call to talk about why he's made video part of the job application process. SOUNDBITE: Alan Cairns. Moneysupermarket.com HR Director saying (English) "What video does is it adds another dimension. It's efficient. It allows you to meet people flexibly but more than anything else it allows people to stand out from paper and you can assess cultural fit and the way that somebody actually comes across on screen in terms of your values and so on." He says using video in the search for candidates has helped him improve his hit ratio considerably. But what do the candidates think? SOUNDBITE: Aurora Bellingham, job applicant, saying (English): "I studied digital media and like the idea of bringing it off the page, because as I new graduate I was struggling with how to make my CV stand out when there are so few jobs." The videos recorded will then be embedded into the candidates' online resumes, allowing subscribing employers the chance to view potential candidates before agreeing to a meeting. SOUNDBITE: Brian Michael, MeetTheRealMe Manager saying (English)" "I predict video will be a core component of nearly all recruitment. Whether it be Skype interviews, pieces of video submitted in the same way as we're doing it or some kind of more personality-driven recruitment program." He doesn't predict video will displace paper CVs altogether, but it will be a bigger part of the recruitment picture for the younger, YouTube savvy generation. Matt Cowan, Reuters