7 video resume tips from a video pro

Lights, camera, action! Get your video seen and provoke the reaction you desire.

Townley Paton, president and owner of InterviewClips.com, shared these additional tips on how to best produce a video resume.

1. Employers review most paper resumes in less than 10 seconds; bear that in mind and keep your clips short.
2. Don’t bother with VHS tapes, DVDs or CD-ROMs. Provide a link to the video resume instead.
3. Don’t use YouTube, Vimeo or any other video-server service where other material may provide distractions. Many companies block their employees’ access to those sites anyway.
4. Divide your presentation into video segments with a progress bar below the frame so employers understand how much longer the clip will run. Don’t use online video players that remove the bar.
5. Never use a Tele-Prompter. Employers will think of it as cheating.
6. Never edit an answer or patch together the voice track. It erodes viewer trust.
7. Beware of poor production values. Not using a tripod; low camera quality; poor sound; rough compression; or worst of all, poor lighting, will kill your chances of making a good impression.