Don’t Be Desperate…Avoid Unfortunate Job Search Techniques

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Yahoo!Hotjobs posted the following (allegedly true) stunts job hunters pulled to try to get an interview:

Put up posters of himself in your company parking lot.
Attached pineapple scratch-and-sniff stickers to his resume.
Announced his candidacy with a singing telegram.
Sent lottery tickets with her resume.
Rented a billboard that you can see from your office to list his qualifications.
Baked cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired.
Delivered pre-paid Chinese food, including a fortune cookie with his name and number.

Other (not recommended) ideas from the survey included:

One applicant sent six postcards, each a puzzle piece, which formed his resume.
A candidate sent an egg carton with faux eggs and a message saying she delivered fresh ideas daily.
A job hunter used an office building across the street to post his qualifications on a large sign.
Another sent a baseball mitt and said he wanted to be part of the team.
A woman printed her name on golf balls and sent them to executives that were hiring.

Creative? Maybe. Sound a little desperate? Absolutely.

The consensus of the advertising and marketing executives (you would think they’d be a pretty creative group) was that gimmicks like these are not very impressive.

The fact is, no one wants to hire a desperate job seeker. In fact, many believe that the “passive” (not looking) job seeker is the best candidate. See this discussion on linkedin about this topic.

Stay tuned for more tips if you are starting to feel that your search is turning desperate!

Don’t wait until you are desperate to get professional career advice: www.keppiecareers.com