These are the cool videos that show how awesome it is to work at a company… have you seen them? What do you think about them? Leave your comments below…
Also, I have a friend who is writing a piece on video job ads. Here is what she is looking for:
I need to find job hunters who have seen a video job ad and can comment on how it affected their decision to apply to a company, and if they got the job, how well the video matches up to reality. If you or someone you know has seen a video job ad and would like to share an opinion on them, please contact me by Friday, Feb. 9. Thanks.
If this is you, shoot me an e-mail (Jason at JibberJobber.com) and I’ll put you in touch.
Here are some examples (click on “View Video”):
I think it is a really cool concept. Prudction values were good on both. I liked the Cingular spot better. I look for more of this in the future. -Carl
Years ago (and I mean YEARS ago) when i back in B-school, we got the standard recruiting presentations from the large NY banks. Professional, informative…and BORING! Only one investment bank really tried to break the mold – they used a very cute and personable video to introduce themselves and create a more casual atmosphere. I suspect a number of my peers probably didn’t appreciate what this bank did – but some of us did (and we were the exact target for this video). To their credit, it’s the only recruiting presentation that I can still remember today.
Carl – I bet you are right, we’ll see more, and they’ll be cooler (even catering to the definition of cool of the people they are trying to lure).
Patrick – that’s a great testimonial to the real question – “are these effective?”
Actually, the video does absolutely nothing for me.
What I do is hunt down past employees of the company through various networking organizations. I ask them to refer the company to me. If I receive overwhelmingly and consistantly bad references – and I did for one company – I am quite prepared to end the program.
I like the ability to ask people who have been there just what it was they liked and disliked about the company that they left.
It is surprizing what you can find out.
I also like the ability to turn the “provide 3 references” around and use it in MY favour. The big secret is to not abuse this – and learn to keep that info to yourself.
Have a good one.
Bez
Bez – I’m with you – kind of. If a video seems very sterile and corporate then I discount the message as “we have a lot of money and come across as very glossy”… there are some other vid’s that are less-glossy – like the one from SimplyHired – they seem much more down to earth and honest. One thing I’ve heard about SimplyHired is that its a way cool Silicon Valley startup-type environment, and the video shows that.
Your strategy is awesome – and it goes to show that there is no single strategy – what you are describing here is an awesome career management tactic – and I strongy recommend people don’t wait until they need to to begin collecting this information! In JibberJobber you can track this “competitive intelligence” under “companies.”
Thanks for sharing 🙂