Should Employers Accept Video Resumes?

Picture this: You’re a hiring manager sipping coffee, clicking through a mountain of text-heavy resumes, when suddenly, your email pings. But this time, instead of a traditional PDF or Word document full of the usual buzzwords, it’s a video resume. The candidate is confidently talking straight to the camera, “Hello, thank you so much for considering my application! Here’s why I’d be a great fit for your open position…”

Video resumes—once seen as a niche trend—are becoming an innovative twist on the conventional hiring process. With video technology at everyone’s fingertips and creativity flowing in the job market, some job seekers are turning their cameras on to stand out from the traditional “white paper and Times New Roman” world. But as an employer, should you accept video resumes? Is it just another passing trend, or is it the future?

In this blog post, we’ll explore why video resumes are gaining popularity, share stats showing their growing acceptance in the job market, and discuss whether employers should consider adding video resumes to their recruitment toolkits. So, grab a seat and let’s talk about how these mini-movies could impact your hiring process!

Are Video Resumes on the Rise? The Stats Speak!

1. Job Seekers are Getting Creative

Video resumes are becoming more popular, thanks to the evolution of technology and the desire of job seekers to add a personal touch to the hiring process. It’s no longer just about listing your work experience and skills—it’s about showing who you are beyond the resume.

While video resumes aren’t yet mainstream across all industries, they’re gaining a foothold, especially in creative sectors like marketing, media, public relations, and entertainment. According to a CareerBuilder survey, 60% of hiring managers stated that video is a welcome addition to traditional resumes, particularly when recruiting for creative or client-facing roles [1].

Why? Simple: Job seekers are constantly trying to find new ways to differentiate themselves from other candidates in an increasingly competitive market. By adding a visual element, they can communicate their personalities and presentation skills in ways that static text just cannot convey.

2. Millennial and Gen Z Candidates Driving Video Engagement

Surprise, surprise: Millennials and Gen Z, who make up a significant percentage of today’s job market, are no strangers to video creation. In 2020, 81% of millennials surveyed by Business News Daily said they believe video would increase their chances of landing a job, primarily because it allows them to showcase their skills in a modern, engaging way that fits their social-media-savvy lifestyles [2].

Video resumes are also perfectly aligned with Gen Z’s deep engagement with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. These younger candidates have grown up in a multimedia world, where video is king and presentation can happen virtually anywhere. It’s no wonder that they’re increasingly turning to video resumes to set themselves apart during the hiring process.

The Benefits of Accepting Video Resumes As an Employer

If you’re an employer or a hiring manager, you might be wondering, “Okay, video resumes sound trendy, but should we actually encourage or accept them?” Here’s a big YES—with some caveats. Let’s explore why adopting video resumes can bring a host of benefits to your recruitment efforts.

1. Get a Deeper Sense of Personality

One of the greatest advantages of a video resume is that it allows you to get a clearer, more immediate sense of the candidate’s personality, communication style, and enthusiasm. While traditional resumes may tell you that someone is a great communicator or dedicated team player, with a video resume, you get to see it firsthand.

Body language, tone of voice, and energy level can communicate a lot about a candidate’s potential fit into your company’s culture. In traditional resumes and cover letters, these key traits are often harder to judge upfront.
Particularly in client-facing roles—think sales, customer service, or communications—candidate presentation skills are vital. Video resumes provide an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate these abilities within seconds.

Research by Forbes supports this idea, with 56% of employers saying that a candidate’s interpersonal and communication skills are more evident in a video resume than in a written one [3].

2. Save Time on Pre-Screening

If you’ve ever spent hours sorting through hundreds of traditional resumes, only to move on to phone interviews that instantly identify a communication mismatch—you know how frustrating and time-consuming it can be. Here’s where video resumes save the day.

By integrating video resumes into your pre-screening process, you can quickly assess interpersonal qualities and overall candidate engagement before investing in lengthy interviews.

A 30-60 second video can speak volumes about the candidates’ professionalism, presentation capability, and communication skills—much faster than it would take reading a traditional resume.
Instead of taking scheduling time to perform initial phone screenings, etc., reviewing a candidate’s video resume early on can help you filter out bad fits faster, ultimately saving time in the recruitment cycle.

According to Workable, companies that use technology (like video tools and assessments) in their hiring processes report a 24% faster time-to-hire, largely due to improvements in the speed of evaluation at early stages [4].

3. Identify Soft Skills More Efficiently

Video resumes can provide insight into crucial soft skills that don’t always shine through on paper. Candidates applying for roles in leadership, management, or client-facing positions must excel in areas such as empathy, strong communication, adaptability, and confidence. But how do you measure all of that from a traditional black-and-white resume?

Watching a candidate speak on camera provides a glimpse into not only their hard skills but also how they think, articulate their ideas, and present themselves under mild pressure (yes, preparing a video resume is a bit stressful!).

Incorporating video assessments into your screening process means you can:

Assess confidence levels and the ability to articulate ideas clearly.
See how candidates pitch and present themselves—important in sales, marketing, or project management positions.
Examine how candidates handle digital communication—a growing need in remote/hybrid teams.

In fact, a report by Robert Half found that 93% of employers consider soft skills as crucial as, if not more important than, technical skills when hiring for high-level positions [5]. Reviewing video resumes lets you test these competencies early on.

The Challenges of Video Resumes: Are There Downsides?

Despite the numerous benefits, it’s essential to also address the potential challenges and drawbacks of accepting video resumes in your hiring process. No recruitment method is without its quirks!

1. Bias Concerns

While video resumes provide a more holistic view of candidates, there’s also the potential for unconscious bias to creep in. Unlike written resumes, video resumes reveal all kinds of visual information about the candidate—gender, ethnicity, age, and even socio-economic indicators. If not handled thoughtfully, hiring decisions could be swayed by irrelevant factors rather than evaluating candidates based solely on skills and qualifications.

Solution: To counteract bias, it’s essential to implement structured scoring systems for video resumes—just as you would for written resumes. Ensure that hiring decisions rely on specific criteria, such as communication skills, cultural fit, and job-specific requirements, instead of non-relevant personal characteristics.

According to a report by Harvard Business Review, 81% of companies with structured interviewing processes reported unclear or no bias in their hiring, vs. unstructured interviews where bias risk is higher [6].

2. Not Suitable for Every Role

While video resumes work wonders for creative industries, they might not be as beneficial in more technical or “behind-the-scenes” roles. For coding or analytical jobs, where the focus is purely on skillsets and problem-solving, video resumes aren’t likely to add much value.

For instance, you don’t need a video resume of an accountant walking you through their spreadsheets, right? In these cases, traditional resumes that include portfolios or coding assessments might still be the best bet.

Solution: Consider opening the video resume option only for certain job roles (such as sales, marketing, customer relations, or leadership positions) where personality and presentation carry more weight.

3. Skill-Specific Showcases

Not every candidate feels confident on video, particularly those in technical fields, introverts, or those unused to being in front of the camera. Accepting video resumes across the board may inadvertently penalize skilled candidates who excel behind the scenes rather than in front of the lens.

Solution: Make it optional! Encourage candidates to submit video resumes when it enhances their application, rather than mandating it—particularly in non-creative professions. This allows job seekers who shine in other ways to still put their best (written) foot forward.

Best Practices for Employers When Handling Video Resumes

1. Create Clear Submission Guidelines

The success of using video resumes depends on clear communication upfront. Confusion over what should go into a video resume can lead to wildly varied submissions—some amazing and others… well, a complete disaster! To avoid this, provide clear guidance to candidates on what you expect.

Do you want them to focus on answering key questions?
How long should the video be? Most experts recommend 30 seconds to 2 minutes maximum.
What file format or platform do you prefer? Do they upload to YouTube and share a link? Or maybe submit it via email or video interview software?

Clear instructions will ensure all candidates are on the same page, making the process smoother for you as an employer as well.

2. Standardize Your Evaluation Process

The moment a candidate walks in front of the camera, the risk of bias can spike if you’re not careful. Implement a structured evaluation process for video resumes. This means knowing exactly what you’re looking for—whether it’s skills, culture fit, or communication ability—and using metrics to assess those qualities fairly.

For example, you could assign a rating from 1-5 on key skills like:

Communication clarity
Professionalism
Cultural fit or enthusiasm
Approach to key qualifying questions (if applicable)

3. Integrate Video Resumes with Technology Platforms

Make it easy for candidates to submit video resumes by integrating this option into your recruitment tech stack. Popular ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) like Greenhouse, Lever, and Workable now offer features for video resume uploads or integrate with video tools like VidCruiter or HireVue. This reduces the hassle for both candidates and recruiters.

Many companies are already seeing positive results, with 26% of recruiters integrated with video technology reporting better—and faster—matching with top talent, according to LinkedIn Talent Solutions [7].

Conclusion: Should Employers Accept Video Resumes? Absolutely—With Some Guidelines!

So, are video resumes the latest passing trend, or should you seriously consider incorporating them into your recruitment toolkit?

We’d argue YES—and the statistics back us up. Video resumes allow recruiters to assess key traits like communication, confidence, and cultural fit quickly and efficiently, while also helping creative and client-facing candidates stand out in a competitive job market. While they might not be right for every role, they’re incredibly valuable in customer-focused, leadership, and creative positions where presentation matters.

But remember: The key to success is balance. Encourage video resumes for roles where they offer insight, but don’t make them mandatory for everyone. Standardize your review process, leverage technology to avoid logistical headaches, and keep bias in check to ensure fairness throughout.

So, go ahead—press play on your hiring process and give video resumes a try! You might just discover your next great hire showing off their personality, passion, and communication skills—all while staring right into your webcam.

CareerBuilder – Video Resumes and Hiring Trends
Business News Daily – Millennials and Video for Job Applications
Forbes – The Role of Video in Hiring
Workable – Time-to-Hire Improvements With Technology
Robert Half – Soft Skills in Today’s Hiring Market
Harvard Business Review – Reducing Bias in Hiring
LinkedIn Talent Solutions – Video Technology in Hiring

Are Video Resumes Becoming More Common?