I've recorded more than 20 Looms for job applications, and when I check who opened them, the answer is usually nobody. Maybe 1 in 15 gets watched. Loom shows you exactly who viewed what, which is useful and a little humbling at the same time.
I want to say clearly that I'm not writing this to complain. I'm writing it because the number surprised me, and because the people who can explain it are probably recruiters and founders, some of whom might be reading this right now.
Here's how I ended up with 20. Some roles asked for a short video, and others didn't ask, but I figured a face and a walkthrough would tell someone more than a resume could. So I'd record one, talk through how I'd approach the work, send it with my application, and wait. Eventually I started checking the dashboard, and most of the rows were empty.
A small habit came out of this. I change my shirt for every Loom. It sounds silly, but once you've recorded this many, the thumbnails start to look identical, and the shirt is the only thing that tells me which week I recorded one and who it was meant for. My wardrobe has quietly turned into a filing system, which is probably not what anyone had in mind when they asked for a video.
The obvious conclusion is that nobody wants to watch them. I'm not fully sold on that, though. Maybe something else is wrong.. the message I sent with the video could be unclear, or it could land at a bad time, or in front of the wrong person, and a view count wouldn't tell me which. A zero doesn't come with a reason. All I actually know is that most of what I've recorded hasn't been seen.
What I keep coming back to is how much a video asks of a stranger. A resume takes thirty seconds, and you can read it while doing something else. A Loom asks someone who has never met me to stop what they're doing and give me two or three minutes of their attention, with the sound on. When a recruiter has a long list of applications open, I get it.. I'd probably skip the video too, tbh.
That's the part that leaves me unsure about Looms. As the person recording, I think they're a warmer way to introduce myself, because they let me show how I think, which a resume never does. As the person receiving, I can see how one would feel like one more thing in a very long queue. So I don't have a verdict yet. I'm trying shorter ones now, and I put a line in the message about what's inside, so someone can decide in a few seconds whether it's worth their time.
I'm going to keep recording them while I look for my next role, because the ones that do get watched are the closest thing I have to sitting across from someone. If you're on the hiring side and you do watch these, I'd be glad to hear what made you press play, since that's the one thing the dashboard can't tell me.
Either way, the next one will be in a different shirt.