Yes, I admit it: I was laughing as I read through a recent CareerBuilder press release detailing a survey about unusual job-seeking tactics. I defy you to read these with a straight face (and no, I am not making this up).
According to CareerBuilder, some of the more memorable tactics cited by hiring managers included:
- Candidate sent a shoe with a resume to “get my foot in the door.”
- Candidate staged a sit-in in the lobby to get a meeting with a director.
- Candidate washed cars in the parking lot.
- Candidate sent a resume wrapped as a present and said his skills were a “gift to the company.”
- Candidate handed out resumes at stoplights.
- Candidate sent a cake designed as a business card with the candidate’s picture.
- Candidate went to the same barber as the Chairman of the Board and had the barber speak on his behalf.
- Candidate handed out personalized coffee cups
- Candidate came dressed in a bunny suit because it was near Easter.
Okay, so these folks were certainly memorable. But did any of these tactics scream “valuable potential employee” to you? Or did they smack of desperation?
I’m all for doing what you can to maximize your chances of getting hired. But seriously, don’t jump the shark to get noticed. Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder, notes, “While unusual job search antics may attract the attention of hiring managers, they need to be done with care and professionalism so that candidates are remembered for the right reasons.”
So the next time you’re heading out for an interview, you might want to leave the bunny suit at home.
(image by tm_lv via Flickr, CC 2.0)
