Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of creating a social media résumé and résumés with video and infographics to supplement a traditional résumé

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: A variety of online résumé formats, variously referred to as e-portfolios, interactive résumés, or social media résumés, provide the opportunity to create a dynamic, multimedia presentation of your qualifications. You can expand on the information contained in your basic résumé with links to projects, publications, screencasts, online videos, course lists, blogs, social networking profiles, and other elements that give employers a more complete picture of who you are and what you can offer. Remember that your online presence is a career-management tool. The way you are portrayed online can work for you or against you, and it's up to you to create a positive impression.
Take advantage of social networking. Use whatever tools are available to direct people to your online résumé, such as including your URL in your Twitter profile. During the application process, don't expect or ask employers to retrieve a résumé from a website. Submit your résumé using whatever method and medium each employer prefers. If employers then want to know more about you, they will likely do a web search on you and find your site, or you can refer them to your site in your résumé or application materials.
For print or electronic documents that you will be submitting to employers or job websites, the safest advice is to avoid photos. The reason is that seeing visual cues of the age, ethnicity, and gender of candidates early in the selection process exposes employers to complaints of discriminatory hiring practices. In fact, some employers won't even look at résumés that include photos, and some applicant tracking systems automatically discard résumés with any kind of extra files. However, photographs are acceptable and expected for social media, and some applicants create PowerPoint or Prezi presentations, videos, or infographics to supplement a conventional résumé. Two key advantages of a presentation supplement are flexibility and multimedia capabilities. A video résumé can be a compelling supplement as well, but be aware that some employment law experts advise employers not to view videos, at least not until after candidates have been evaluated solely on their credentials. The reason for this caution is the same as with photographs. In addition, videos are more cumbersome to evaluate than paper or electronic résumés, and some recruiters refuse to watch them. Infographics are likely to be incompatible with most applicant tracking systems and with the screening habits of most recruiters, so while you might stand out with an infographic, you might also get tossed out if you try to use an infographic in place of a conventional résumé. In virtually every situation, an infographic should complement a conventional résumé, not replace it. In addition, successful infographics require skills in graphical design, and if you lack those skills, you'll need to hire a designer.