Creativity or Desperation: It’s in the Eye of the Beholder

By Barrie Berquist

With the recession still looming, jobs are still scarce and job candidates are almost as numerous as mosquitoes in Minnesota. It is not uncommon for several hundred people to apply for 1 opening at a particular company. With so many applicants, recruiters rely heavily on computers to help sift through the applications and make the first cuts. If your application does make it in front of a human, it usually gets only a few seconds of attention before either being tossed into the pile for further consideration or the pile to be recycled.

Some candidates are altering their job search strategies to include using creative methods to grab the attention of the hiring managers. I heard of a candidate who mailed a shoe to a hiring manager with a note reading, “I just want to get my foot in the door at XYZ Company.” Another sent a coffee mug with a request to take the hiring manager out for a cup of coffee. I have heard of candidates posting video resumes on YouTube, placing commercials on cable TV, and standing on street corners holding signs advertising their skills.

As marketers, many see this as an opportunity to showcase creativity and “out-of-the-box” thinking. Others see it as a desperate attempt to stand out from the crowd. What do you think?

• Considering the current economic climate, are these types of efforts creative or desperate?
• Have you or anyone you know used creative methods such as these? If so, what did you (or someone else) do? What was the result?
• If you were a hiring manager, how would you respond to tactics such as these?

Share your thoughts. We’d love to hear them!

Barrie Berquist is a Retail Analyst on the ConAgra Foods Team at Acosta Sales and Marketing. She has been a member of the MN AMA since 2007 and is a member of the MarCom Committee where she serves as the Career Insider Blog Project Manager. She can be reached at barrieberquist@yahoo.com. You can follow Barrie on Twitter @BEBERQUIST.