Become virtually indispensible to potential employers

Sales rep Adriana Lukasik used a video blog, on left, to help her land the job of her dreams at the Vancouver-based social media management company HootSuite. (CTV)

**Story first aired in November 2012

After her job interview with the Vancouver-based social media management company HootSuite, Adriana Lukasik went on a social media blitz in hopes of standing out amongst the crowd.

The sales specialist started up a Facebook page announcing why she was the perfect candidate for the post.

"I made some videos that I posted on YouTube about why I wanted to work here and that I wanted to work here,” Lukasik told CTV’s Steele on Your Side.

The day after the second video was posted, HootSuite brass contacted her and started job negotiations.

Ambrosia Humphrey, the human resources director for HootSuite, says going the extra mile pays off.

“People in the office were talking about Adriana before she even started here. That’s impressive,” she said.

HootSuite, which provides software for managing and analyzing social media, is growing so fast that it’s hiring about five people a week.

From a custom tea box to a handmade HootSuite owl with a link to an online resume to baked goods, the company receives hordes of creative resumes.

Humphrey said one of the favourites was a fondant cake that said ‘not all skills fit on a resume,’ in icing.

"It was a really great way to get our attention,” she said. “When you get hundreds of resumes every week it does sometimes take an extra little push."

Video resumes and targeted online marketing campaigns are becoming a popular, and sometimes necessary, method of getting the attention of employers.

But while the right digital CV can make you stand out, the wrong one can make you a virtual laughing stock amongst future colleagues.

Searching YouTube for ‘bad video resumes’ will net you dozens of wannabe employees either reading their resumes in a monotone voice, or even worse, talking about their past relationships and why they failed.

Video resumes aside, recruiters at one Vancouver headhunting firm say job seekers still need to do some extra legwork.

The Headhunters recruiter Dave Banns says networking and meeting people for coffee is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Banns says in the end the good old paper resume is still going to be what seals the employment deal -- so make it unique, specific, honest and to the point.

"Often people look at a resume for 15 or 20 seconds and it has to be that sort of elevator pitch, it has to be there, so that two-dimension piece of paper has to get you into the ‘yes’ pile,” he said.

The firm offers some resume tips to job candidates hoping to get noticed:

Headhunters has a free career insight assessment for job seekers that gives you feedback on what jobs might be a good fit for your skill set and personality traits

For more information, click here and enter group code CTV001.