The U S. Government Thinks Video Resumes Are Dangerous

The U.S. Government Thinks Video Resumes Are Dangerous I imagine we'd all like to think the human assets business is evolving into a extra efficient, lean and people-pushed setting. Sadly, although, it’s not and arguably by no means will. Why? Because our government gained’t allow it. About 5-8 years ago, everyone was excited to see that trendy technology lastly caught up with resumes and interviewing. Specifically, that expertise was creating video resumes and canopy letters. How many articles from “professionals” and “specialists” do you see writing about the future of resumes and then saying it’s a video resume/cover letter? The first wildly popular video resume was sent in 2006 by Yale senior Aleksey Vayner to Wall Street. Back then, he was ridiculed and became the laughing stock of each financial providers company on the market. Today, video resumes are encouraged by professionals as a method to stand out towards the competitors. On the face of it, completely, I couldn’t agree more. Doing something that’s greater t han merely sending your resume in with an software is a great concept. So, then, what is the point of this article? The government â€" our U.S. authorities â€" is shutting down innovation. Is The EEOC Creating Bias Where None Exists? Let me cut to the chase. Certain guidelines enacted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have stifled any hope of video resumes ever catching on. In a latest informal dialogue letter, they focus on their thoughts on video resumes/cover letters. It’s essential to notice that an off-the-cuff dialogue letter is merely an opinion on a subject, not an official decision. However, they do give us an idea as to where they’re thinking. The letter states: The most blatant violation of the EEO legal guidelines is the place a selection determination is “pushed by express… animus.” For instance, if a Title VII-coated entity identifies an applicant’s religion from viewing her non secular garb in a video resume and rejects her software for employment on that basis, the covered entity has engaged in illegal employment discrimination in violation of Title VII. However, biased treatment is not all the time acutely aware. The EEO legal guidelines prohibit “not solely choi ces driven by . . . animosity, but also decisions contaminated by stereotyped pondering.” Because viewing a video may set off unconscious bias, particularly if opportunities for face-to face dialog are absent, lined entities ought to implement proactive measures, or best practices, to attenuate this danger. For example, before utilizing video resumes and other video screening units, a covered entity may proactively formulate and communicate to selection officials how the video resumes might help assess specific qualifications and expertise which are essential for success within the place. Additionally, a covered entity might require that several individuals assess every video resume in relation to the stated job requirements. Let me first say, this is only the tip of the letter, not the complete letter. To read it in its entirety, click on here. It makes me consider the current remarks of Mark Cuban in relation to bias. If you haven’t heard these remarks, you possibly can compen sate for them by watching this video. What Cuban is speaking about is an unconscious bias we all have that we cannot control, no matter how good of a person we predict we are. Now, going again to the EEOC and video resumes/cover letters. The EEOC says video resumes are troublesome “as a result of viewing a video may set off unconscious bias.”This is what I learn: We, the federal government, will move legal guidelines and guidelines to pressure you to think a sure means, whether acutely aware or unconscious.The disturbing half there is the implication that video resumes are wrong since you might think about somebody or one thing in a certain way with out figuring out you’re considering in that method. Excuse me… What!? Are they critical? While I understand the importance of Title VII and plenty of different EEO laws, that is one premise I fully disagree with and can argue till video resumes are widely accepted. The “Protection” Fallacy Let me ask this of all HR folks and hiring managers: When you obtain a great resume, from whatever source, do you go online and Google that person? Because should you do, that is potential grounds for violating EEO laws, based on the premise of the Commission’s opinion on video resumes. If you go to the candidate’s LinkedIn profile and they have a picture posted, it’s possible you would unconsciously not like that image and decide to cross on the individual. So forget about Wix, About.me, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and different relevant sites that can be utilized in the hiring and sourcing process, as a result of they may cause you to think about something you didn’t even know you considered folks, and it could be a federal violation. Is this actually what our society has come to? This sort of creativity-staunching micro-administration on the part of the government is not the reply. Mark Cuban was completely proper. Extrapolating his words into my own opinion, we have to lo ok at the larger image and create a society that helps one another, the place we band together and love one another for what we are and who we're. As Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. as soon as mentioned, individuals ought to “not be judged by the color of their skin however by the content of their character.” Our country has become so targeted on forcing individuals to assume one way that we have forgotten in the process to actually help one another. What occurs in a company when HR finds out there is attainable discrimination? The first thought is termination and the second thought is then remediation. We must cease focusing on biases we can’t control and begin working toward eliminating the supply of the bias within the first place. (Click here to tweet this thought.) If we will change ourselves for the higher, then we are able to have a society that accepts video resumes, however extra importantly, a society that accepts us for who we're on the inside, not the skin. What’s your tackle the unconscious bias debate? Do you suppose video resumes are “harmful?” Share in the comments along with your thoughts! Image: Flickr