A traditional, in-person interview in the job search process not only involves burning gas in travel, but also often uses paper resources like business cards, resume copies and company brochures. Multiply all of these things by a few different interviews and suddenly you’ve got a lot of trees and fossil fuels wrapped up in your job search. By using digital resumes, video interview technology and email exchanges, you can drastically reduce this environmental impact! Take a look at how you can be green and digitize your job search all with video interview technology.
Start by perfecting your digital resume. Most job seekers have a copy of their resume saved on the computer, which is a great move. Use this digital copy to print off paper copies only as needed rather than keeping a stack of resumes on your desk. Resumes can and should be updated often, and having a lot of printed resumes runs the risk of wasting paper when they become out of date (I know, I have a stack of useless resumes from a few months ago!).
Consider making a PDF of your resume from the word processing document. The PDF looks nicer on screen and will get rid of that pesky red squiggle that shows up under names that your word processor doesn’t recognize. Also be sure to consider video resumes in your job search. Check out these Spark Hire tips and tricks for creating great video resumes , which is also good preparation for a video interview with an employer. Post both your digital resume and video resumes to one of many free portfolio services so directing your interviewers to these materials is super easy. Another great perk to video resumes is they don’t require you to use paper, which helps to make your job search green! Start recording video resumes and decrease your carbon footprint.
Although saving trees is important, the biggest change you can make to “green up” your job search is to take advantage of a video interview or an online interview. When a potential employer asks you to come to their office, mention that you would like to reduce your carbon footprint by doing an online interview or a video interview. In fact, you can calculate the amount of carbon emissions it will take for you to reach your in-person interview using this calculator. For a more impressive number, also try running an estimated carbon cost for a company’s interview process. For instance, interviewing 10 candidates at a commute of 30 miles round trip will burn 1/10 of a metric ton of CO2 emissions (200 pounds of CO2 emissions). My personal carbon footprint for my current job search is closer to 8/10 of a metric ton…if I had been driving a Honda Civic. Eek!
When you interview online or participate in a video interview you no longer have to travel in your car to place yourself in front of an employer. You decrease your carbon footprint and save time for both you and the employer. Next time an employer invites you to participate in an online interview or video interview, be sure to accept it!
If you are suggesting an online interview to an employer, be sure to recommend a great video interview platform in order to make things easier for your employer. Spark Hire has an awesome set of easy-to-use tools for online interview use. Your employer will never miss the days of standard interviews!
What other ways can you make your job search more green? Have you ever participated in an online interview or video interview in your job search? Leave a comment below or send me a tweet: @ithinkther4iamb #videointerview #onlineinterviews
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Manjith Kainickara *manjithkaini.net*
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