WITH job cuts expected to hit one million worldwide next year, some job seekers have resort to the innovative method of using video resumes to stand out among the fierce competition.

A search on YouTube for 'video resume' brings up about 2,000 results, PC World magazine reported yesterday.

An online poll conducted by Management Recruiters International found that out of the 500 responses, 4 per cent said they had used videos in their job search.

The numbers may be small, said PC World, but video resumes are getting the attention of recruiters such as Ms Kip Hollister, chief executive of Boston- based recruiting firm, Hollister Inc.

'One has to be very careful using this as a tool, because the first impression is a lasting impression,' Ms Hollister said, as quoted in the magazine.

'If one is going to do this, you really need to do it right. And if you do it low-quality, that will, in essence, leave a cheap impression of video resumes.'

Job seekers who use video resumes are typically those trained in information technology, such as programmers and business analysts, according to PC World.

Ms Hollister said that videos would allow potential candidates to demonstrate their communication skills and charisma.

But she cautioned that sending a video link to a large company may not work at all. Time, or the lack of it, is amajor factor.

Big corporations usually recruit for many positions at one time, and they may have 'no more than 10 to 20 seconds' to look at a resume, Mr Michael Neece, chief strategy officer of Pongo Software, which operates online resume service Pongo Resume, told PC World.

Besides, some employers see videos as a legal risk in screening applicants, because they provide information such as race, size and disability, which are unrelated to an applicant's qualifications, according to the magazine. Recruiters, however, do not rule out completely the use of video as part of a traditional resume.

Ms Della Giles, director of career management service BlueSteps.com in New York, told PC World that resumes will become more visual and may include snippets of video about the applicant as part of the overall presentation.

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