For anyone who lives outside of France, there’s a new show that has taken over the country.
Bref.
What’s not to like about a show that reveals the inner thoughts and behind the scenes life of your average, 30-year-old, unemployed French man (or is he employed now, I forget)? No seriously. Each episode never lasts more than a few minutes and narrates the oh-so-fashionable errors and anecdotes of everything from simply “browsing the internet” (yeah right) to “getting ready for a date.”
Bref. I wrote my resume.
The style of the TV series – which is perhaps marked by its rapid tempo and seemingly unimportant story lines – has sparked a wave of parodies and remakes. I posted one of my favorite parodies (done by comedian Kevin Razy) in a previous article that I wrote; but there have been dozens more. In fact, Bref video parodies are being used for all kinds of viral ads today – and even as a resume or a CV.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-_9Oi-W0nE]
The creative job applicant.
I wrote an article last year on how French startups that were having difficulty securing capital were getting creative with funding. Well, in many ways, this can perhaps also be seen with job applicants. In a way this reminds me of Benjamin Lotan, who made it into TechCrunch last year with his printable Facebook friend wall. At the time, he actually was trying to get hired by Facebook (see the images from this article). Then again, don’t go too far because your creative talent can get you fired or almost fired as well – well, at least if you’re living in the US. Still, these interesting viral methods are clearly a very good way to demonstrate your creative skills if you’re trying to get hired. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more Bref. videos along the same line…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg]
Looking for a job en ligne.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about how many dating sites and e-commerce sites there are in France. But another area that has gotten quite a bit of traction is in the job-related platforms. First, the French Linkedin, Viadeo, boasts some 40 million members – ok, it may not sound as impressive next to Linkedin’s 135 million members, but still. And then there are several personalized CV and resume sites like DoYouBuzz, which seem to be getting more and more popular (and is aiming to pass 1 million users by 2012). Former Qype COO Stéphanie Delestre recently launched her own innovative job site, called Qapa, which uses an algorithm to match CVs to recruiters. And finally – one of my favorites, is Remixjobs, which is real-time jobs published on Twitter by famous French tech blogger, Korben. But interestingly enough, only 2 out of every 1000 tweets in France concerns a job offer or request, according to a recent study published by Semiocast.
Bref. I’m waiting for more French video resumes.
Ultimately, French job seekers are going to be looking for more creative ways to be getting attention from employers. Even if they’re not from the creative industry, I’m definitely expecting to see more video resumes done in the Bref style. I guess we could even launch battle of the Bref? No but seriously, feel free to post your favorite Bref parodies in the comments. 🙂
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