The JobSync Blog
Is the Age of Video Cover Letters Approaching?
November 7, 2011
In an era where people’s personal and professional lives come to life on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, it’s not surprising to learn that screening interviews on Skype are slowly becoming more common. However, will jobseekers and employers take this a step further and make video cover letters a standard practice one day?
In a recent blog on Careerealsim.com, J.T. O’Donnell, the site’s founder, shared a letter from a reader who had submitted a video cover letter to a company called Carrot Creative. Carrot Creative is a new media marketing company, and the reader applied for a position as a community manager. The company had asked applicants to submit an interesting cover letter that would get their attention. True to their request, the reader created a clever, engaging stop-motion cover letter using hundreds of carrots to spell out highlights of his professional background and personality (view the video cover letter here).
At the very least, one has to assume this got Carrot Creative’s attention and that this candidate’s application was given serious consideration. O’Donnell also applauds his reader’s efforts, noting that he 1) responded to the challenge of the employer; 2) used the opportunity to teach himself a new skill; and 3) was brave enough to put the video out there and ask O’Donnell for help to promote it. However, at the end of the day, a video cover letter is like any other good cover letter: It may open doors, but one still has to walk through them. This candidate will no doubt have to make it through a rigorous selection process, and his success will ultimately rest on whether the company feels he is a good fit for the organization.
While this novel approach was warranted for a company like Carrot Creative, it is probably too soon for jobseekers to consider sending even a less ambitious video cover letter for most traditional companies. But don’t be surprised if this gradually changes and video cover letters become commonplace in the near future. Thankfully, the webcam doesn’t add ten pounds.
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