Would you give a job to someone who rented a billboard to hang a giant copy of his resume?
That’s OK, most hiring managers would think twice, too.
The Creative Group, an advertising and marketing staffing firm, recently published a report on the unusual lengths some people go to in order to get hired. Among the strangest anecdotes in the report was a guy who rented a roadside billboard to display his resume.
Another job-seeker used the building across the street from a company he wanted to work for to hang a big sign listing the reasons they should hire him.
Some other tactics mentioned in the report: sending a singing telegram to the recruiter, mailing a resume in six pieces that fit together like a puzzle and hanging a poster with the candidate’s portrait in front of an executive’s parking space.
What were they thinking?
If you think that sounds ridiculous, you aren’t alone. Out of the executives surveyed by The Creative Group, only 2% said those off-the-wall techniques might increase someone’s chance of getting hired. More than half said they’d hurt the candidate’s chances.
What do you think? Would you bother with a candidate who did something silly, strange or just plain stupid to get your attention? Have you had candidates try any unusual tactics to get hired? Did it work? Let us know in the comments section.
