Can you get hired in 1/30th of a second?
1/30th of a second… that’s all it was. But that 1/30th of a second has raised a bit of a ruckus thanks to a post on YouTube, where a video posted has already been viewed over 750,000 times and another similar video being viewed over 990,000 times! It happened on the widely watched cook-off “The Iron Chef” and in case you haven’t heard, it’s about subliminal advertising. McDonald’s denies it, the show’s producers say it was a technical error, but many think it was a form of subliminal advertising being tested.
As marketer and “subliminal persuasion” guru Dave Lakhani writes in his blog,
“…the real question is does short exposure to messages have an impact. It would appear that in the case of video it does. This research from University College London ‘found the first physiological evidence that invisible subliminal images do attract the brain’s attention on a subconscious level.’”
So what does this matter to you, as a job seeker? Would you like to super-size your Iron-Chef-prepared gourmet meal? Or how about subliminally super-sizing the chances that your video resume stands out above the rest?
(Hire me)
Now this isn’t a recommendation, nor have I tried this, but I wonder what impact subliminal advertising would have in the form of, say, a video resume?
With video editing software, it would be quite easy to pop in a frame that says “Hire Me” into an otherwise ordinary (or hopefully, extraordinary) video resume. Anyone game? Among the recruiters reading this, do you even look at video resumes?
Or in a traditional resume, what about using the first letters of your bullet points to make a subliminal statement such as:
-Have managed teams of up to 20 people with project budgets over $5 Million
-In-depth knowledge of industry issues, best practices, and emerging trends
-Reduced delivery costs by 32.4% through effective workforce utilization
-Effectively utilized technology to streamline processes and reporting
-Managed projects to budget, timeline, and business requirements
-Executed in-depth cost savings analysis to save clients $1.2 Billion over 3 years
Do you see that “subliminal” message? ;o)
Perhaps instead of a text blog, I should have done a video post….Maybe I should pop in a quick frame that says “Buy My Book!”?
To your success,
David B. Wright
Author, Get A Job! Your Guide to Making Successful Career Moves
www.thegetajobbook.com
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Tonny,
Thanks for your comment. As I said in the post, “This is not a recommendation, nor have I tried this…”
Unfortunately, racism is a reality and you do raise a valid point. As you wrote, the fact that racism and other discrimination do exist and can play a factor in the hiring process is “the truth[,] nothing but the truth” but it is not the whole truth. It seems that you are focusing solely on the racism aspect and ignoring that people are hired based on a combination of many factors; with skills, qualifications, and experience being very major components. Hiring decisions aren’t made solely on a whim or after watching a video - there are often multiple interviews with multiple people within the organization, background checks and even credit checks are run, and so on.
Also keep in mind that not all of the readers are in the US. In Japan, for example, as in many other countries, it is customary to have a photo on your resume.
Once you get to the interview, your race is out in the open. But I really don’t think it’s solely the color of your skin that makes the difference whether you get the job or not. Aside from the qualifications mentioned above, other factors do come into play. And unlike your skin color, these are things you do have control over. It’s your appearance (professional or not), your demeanor, your communications skills (such as the language you use), how well you articulate what value you bring to the company, your enthusiasm for the opportunity, and so much more.
Besides, when hiring managers do throw away your resume based on a Latino, Black, Asian, or Arab name, maybe they’re doing you a favor - would you really want to work for some racist anyway? Remember that when you’re looking for a job, you’re looking for a good fit in a company just as much as they’re looking for a good fit in an employee.
To your success,
David