HERE'S SOMETHING THAT WORKED FOR ME-----Since the METHOD of getting your resume to a hiring manager has changed to electronically mainly (email, fax), in the subject line of the email or fax, I put the position I was applying for and added, in capital letters to be sure they saw it--"CHOOSE ME TO INTERVIEW-. Beleive it or not, I sent 5 resumes this way, just to see if it would work, 3 of them called me for interviews. Use any variation of this, whatever you think will get their attention. CHOOSE ME, I"M THE ONE YOU NEED TO MEET, etc.

why look for a job why not work for yourself?

I too have the same problem, so many people and so few jobs! I have never been unemployed for so long & I don't like it. I had the total misfortune of taking a job that I knew I wasn't going to like but needed a job so I took it and I ended up totally dreading every moment I was there and I ended up quitting (see, that's what these people did; pushed you to your limits until you couldn't take it anymore! they were awful; and no wonder they went thru 11 employees in less than 1 year .. sad place to work)what kind of "boss" walks around the office with "head phones" in her ears and says "I said all I have to say & heard all I want to hear so bring your questions somewhere else" .. too bad I was a "new hire" and had no where else to go! Now I'm stuck back where I was before I had this job and don't know what to do now ...

I agree; what if any tactics actually landed interviews that led to a job hire?

Here's another 'tactic', I thought might make a difference. I was trying to land just a phone screen with a company I was extremely interested in and after two cover letters, repeated follow-up calls, leaving messages over a period of 3 wks, I sent another snail mail cover letter w/a Starbucks gift card. Added a P.S. at the end and said 'have a cup of coffee/tea on me and give it some thought'. My guess - perhaps, the hiring manager was not a fan of Starbucks. So I moved on.

Brad,
I have been in sales since 1990 and I used to be terrible at selling for a lot of reasons.

The good sales people get it and the rest just don't!

Trying to find a job is just like trying to sell any product. When you are looking for a job you are selling your self. The hardest aspect of sales is getting the appointment!

Start networking with people you know, ask them if they will meet you for a cup of coffee, most people will and get referrals from them.

The jobs sites are useful only to see what companys are fishing. A lot companys also use job sites to see if any of their employees are looking as well.

If you need any help feel free to email me.

Good Luck and remember to have fun at this as well.

Greg
gtnational@comcast.net

It seems to me that the success of these tactics tells as much about the HR person and or the company and the position sought as it does about the job seeker. Creativity and its worth is in the eye of the beholder.

One of the creative tactics I know of that worked (I even included it in my book, Get A Job! Your Guide to Making Successful Career Moves) is that a friend of mine sent her resume along with a pair of neon green socks and a note that read "I've got marketing ideas that will knock your socks off!" She got the job and LOVES it.
To your success,
David B. Wright

It is good to be able to stand apart from the rest as a jobseeker but, on behalf of hiring managers, I do not see how these tactics will work moreso than a traditional interview. It would be helpful to know which one worked and those that didn't. I do like the idea of the walk-in, but in a time of enhanced security, frankly I am suprised that people can randomly deliver cakes and come in to a building with a bunny suit on without any problems. If I was a hiring manager, I would skip the desert.

These stories and tactics are conjured up by white people. These do not work for blacks. I have tried them. I will stay with government and take their stupid exams. I do not want to make a jerk of myself and Uncle Tom my way for a job or a promotion.

In my experience with trying to find a job through Careerbuilders, I found that most companies I sent resume's to didn't even bother to acknowledge reciept of same, much less offer me an interview. Sending a resume over the internet just didn't work for me. Anyone's best bet is to network with past associates in their desired field. I was lucky enough to find a job that way.

I've read many of the replies to this article and it seems that many people take issue with the fact that these types of creative job search tactics might not have worked. Hiring is always subjective-in every case-so sometimes these kinds of things work, and sometimes they are "gimmicky" and won't work. My suggestion is to use tactics that reflect who you are, what you have to offer, and what you know about what the employer needs. However, the truth is that your resume will not "get you a job." In this market, it probably will not even get you an interview! Therefore, you must be willing to show that you have initiative, passion, and competencies that a business needs and you also need to get noticed. Should you send a shoe to get your foot in the door? That is entirely dependent upon who you are and what the company needs.

So does anyone know if these have worked? I work online and so my hiring tactic was a little different as I didn't exactly have an interview.

Joan,

You may want to have several people or even a professional resume writer look at your resume and help catch HR's or the hiring manager's eyes so that you can get an interview.

Also, someone from my work brought everyone in our company donuts with a sign that said, "I will return at 3pm tomorrow to follow up on an interview." That definitely got him a job and he was known as "Donut Guy."

Hope that helps!

I am what is called a Contracts Engineer and work in the oilpatch. I take the Engineers/Designers Scope of Work and put it into meaningful English, cost out the project (which currently runs into the hundreds of millions) and write and review the Bids and then write the EPC (Engineering,Procurement,Construction) contracts and finally control the contractor through to completion of the project including resolving any claims issued. It takes years to develop a good Contracts Engineer and is is rare to find a senior one under the age of 45.
Even with this background on a number of large international projects I still had a problems finding a job after having a heart attack and being off work for a year. My answer was to blitz the job market and go after any type of postition that moved. If you send out a hundred resumes 85% are going to be rejected. 15% will be looked at and 5% will be a callback and taken seriously. It only takes a 1% chance of a hit to land a job. it is better to apply for 300 positions. The moral of the story is to get a large volume of resumes into peoples hands. Really it is a numbers game. It took a few hundred resumes but I am now sitting at a $200,00 after taxes job. The internet is fantastic for locating and applying for jobs. It is also a lot cheaper than putting together a paper resume and mailing it out. Postage is pretty expensive to waste if you are unemployed and no money is coming in.
Also it is worthwhile to subscribe to job listing boards such as oilandgasjobsearch.com and other. That way you get a daily listing of jobs and can shoot out CVs within seconds.

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting. It worked for me.
larry Sales Calgary, Al;berta

I have no problem with networking with other unemployed people like myself but I do better networking with people I know who are working. If you see a job posting at their company, as an employee they can view who the recruiter is and/or the hiring manager. I've made connections with the recruiter. They know that I know an employee(s) and are interested to hear what I have to offer. They also use that person as a reference and have asked me to send them my resume and in addition to that particular position, they will keep you in mind for other opportunities and also pass your resume along to their colleagues. I am doing that now with 2 companies. I ended up with interviews but the jobs were not a good fit but they have told me to keep in touch with them.

These all sound pretty anecdotal to me! A lot of articles that you read in trade magazines or specialized websites like this one are simply cooked up in the head of some freelance author like "Kate" here, who is probably working for $50 per article and churning them out as fast as she can - but they never actually happened - they're just someone's overactive imagination. Or, they happened a long time ago and won't work today - like the guy who sent his resume (on very thin paper) folded up real tight, stuffed into an empty walnut shell. He sent it to the Chairman with a silver nutcracker and a note that said, "They say you're a tough nut to crack!" Cute story, but that won't work, today.
Why? because you can't send stuff to people you don't know, without causing a fuss! In today's post 9/11 world, a lot of companies today will NOT accept a "resume wrapped as a present" or a "cake decorated like a business card" - because of security concerns. The wrapped present, their security dept. thinks, might be a bomb; the cake, possibly poisoned. So the gimmick of sending a shoe, say, will not work in many firms. Plus, you might get a visit from the police for your effort.
So what do you do? You can't call the guy on the phone at his office, because either you get the voicemail, or you reach a blue-haired secretary of a certain age who has heard your heartbreaking story many, many times before. "Click"!
The Chairman of a large corporation generally has the barber come to him. And if I were the Chairman whose barber "spoke on behalf of so-and-so", he must have been bribed to do so; If I were that Chairman I would think about changing barbers. And I surely would not hire the little sneak who invaded my privacy!
What works? I don't know,Folks! I never figured it out myself. After I lost my real job I ran a consulting business for 30 years, made a lot of money at it (after I got good, that is) and retired. I would suggest that you do the same - because most "jobs" as you know them, are never coming back.

To the individuals making comments about the silly tactics, can you post a few ideas that might gain attention?
I've attended good schools, have experience and I'm known for a good work ethic but yet, I haven't received any interviews.

Try these:

1) show up on time
2) dress for success; not for comfort or recreation
3) speak in business mode; not in conversational mode.
4) do not use the word "like" in any sentence, especially on a resume. I was like, the manager, of alot of stuff, you know.

I actually considered dressing in a suit and handing out resumes at busy intersections... and wearing a sandwich board that read: "Will Work for Fee."

... or "will design automated manufacturing facilities for fee".

-- JDC

Billy Mayes....the TV commercial hawker ...who sports a hairy black beard and mustache and always wears a blue button down shirt....shouting and yelling while waving his arms and gesturing to sell a product...he never seems to have a problem getting more advertisers... and he doesn't care whether he is selling Oxy Clean, or Hercules Hooks, or health insurance ( for that infomercial he dons a navy jacket over his blue shirt and flaunts his hairy family ).... I say GOT IT- Flaunt it...like BILLY MAYES...and who cares if it is unconventional..above all, companies want people who solve problems, while thinking OUT OF THE BOX. Now--- does anyone have $13,000 I can borrow to put myself on a billboard?

Well... which one's worked?

It would be nice to know if humour or originality worked better?

For those who think it would be sophomoric and employers might frown upon that. Think about this. Creative thinking in tough times is something companies are looking for. They are looking for people who can think creatively to save costs, to make sales, and to increase the bottom line. If you are creative enough to catch an employers attention amidst the 100 other resumes out there that look just like yours. You have a leg up on everyone else.

It depends on your profession and industry I guess. For the financial and engineering world, those techniques might simply put you on a blacklist for most recruiters and HR persons alike.

I totally agree with several postings here, but most of all with you, Frank! People just love to criticize! And yes, whoever wrote this article definitely should not have left us hanging without some tactics that DID work.

So, why don't we stop complaining about not knowing what worked for these people, and post some ideas WE have to assist us jobseekers. Let me follow my own suggestion...

I find a phone number, and try to make a GREAT impression with the Gatekeeper. I get all the information I can get from him/her in order to be selected for an interview, ask the right questions during the interview, and make a good impresssion. They have a ton of information and can be your best ally.

Then, I reference things the Gatekeeper told me (When i spoke to Karen, she informed me that ...." or "James mentioned that....."). to let the interviewer know I have researched, done my homework, and made an impression on the Gatekeeper! Think about it... then add your own ideas (but please don't blast me : - )I am looking for a position too, my friends!

Wow some of you guys are closed minded to the times in which you are living in. Its quite obvious that no one is doing this because they are interested in whether or not they can make you laugh, people just use these antics as attention-getters. thats all! no more no less. they should not have their resume or their character tied to the initial antic as just an antic, but as an opportunity for you to see some form of creativity and willingness to show you why they stand out from everyone else.

Its funny to hear critics critize. What would you do if you were up against 5 others for the position after being out of work for 10 months? And the unemployment numbers are only going to increase. Get off the high horse...

Necessity is the mother of invention.
Indeed, job seekers are being as innovative as possible with their job search.The recession with its harrowing conditions is birthing diffenrent kinds of ideas in the jobless to inch their way into the job market.
This is reminiscent of the Great Depression when America and the whole world saw many scientist/technologists coming out of their shells to flood the system with a myriad of inventions.

Recessions have always being more of a wake-up call for both innovations and spirituality.

Yes, I would also like to know what worked since I too am out of a job. This has to be the hardest time to get a job since I have been working. I have never had this much of a problem.

These methods are interesting, but, as others have asked, DID thest tactics LAND a Job, or at least, an Interview?

I find it amazing that one guy RENTED a Billboard! I don't know about that guy, but, I certainly don't have the $$ for most of these methods!

Sophomore, not sophmore. More correct would be sophomoric.

I will say, as a technical hiring manager (Engineering and IT) I am not a fan of these tactics. If someone approached me using these tactics I would personally ask HR to put them on a "do not hire" list and screen them out as potential candidates now and in the future.

I expect from myself, and my staff, a high level of professionalism. These gimmicks or antics don't reflect that.

Then again, if you’re looking to be a comedian or circus performer then perhaps this is the correct approach.

dude all I want to know if it worked or not thats cool that you tried to put it up there but tell me what were the results of your efforts.

The other comments are true.....and you have to weigh the pros and cons.....but then again, if you can get your foot in the door by being innovative, go for it! In this economy we are not getting interviews anyway so if you lose one more because they think you're being too creative....so what! Desperate times call for desperate measures and that one act of innovation may set you apart from everyone else!

I have tried two of these tactics and received no special consideration for any of the jobs I’ve applied for. So what good are they? Yea someone tried something different, did they get the job? I doubt it.

I just read this exact same article yesterday on another email not from CareerBuilder - I've already deleted it, though. I even remember the author said something about the one that would have caught her attention the most for consideration was the business card cake, that she felt if someone actually baked her a cake, she would certainly meet with them. I agree that it's interesting to see some of these tactics, but the "that work" tag in the title did not get justified in the article, and that's what's going to make most people read it to start with. Who cares about tactics that didn't work, people want to know about the ones that DO or DID, and were left hanging.

The billboard is a creative idea. There was a professional in KC that stood by the roadside during morning rush hour with a sign that said hire me a few years ago. He got a job.

If I were an HR manager, I would immediately exclude people using some of those tactics listed. I liked the shoe. That is also creative.

I'm currently out of work and seeking, but would not dress up in a bunny suit...Easter or not.

I agree with Annette, did any of the far out tactics work? Conservative companies may find this behavior sophmoric and far below their standards for employment...be careful.

It would have been a better article if had dealt with the unusual tactics that worked and landed someone a job.