‘Your tarot cards say you should hire me’
Would you hire an applicant who showed up for his interview dressed like a clown?
CareerBuilder asked 2,076 hiring managers and human resource professionals nationwide to share the most memorable methods candidates have used to stand out from the crowd, and whether their creativity got them hired.
Here’s a look at what the researchers learned:
Techniques that Worked
These intrepid jobseekers actually landed the job. The list of successful applicants included those who:
- submitted a resume on a chocolate bar
- showed up in a suit with a red T-shirt underneath a white shirt. The red T-shirt had a message: “Hire me, I work hard”
- asked to be interviewed in Spanish to showcase his skills
- crafted the cover letter like an invitation to hire her rather than a request (similar to a wedding invitation)
- climbed on a roof the employer was repairing and asked for a job
- performed a musical number on the guitar about why he was the best candidate
- volunteered to help out with making copies when he saw interviewer’s assistant was getting frazzled
- repaired a piece of company’s equipment during the first interview, and
- sent a message in a bottle.
These approaches, not so much
Unsuccessful candidates:
- back-flipped into the interview room
- brought items from interviewer’s online shopping wish list
- sent a fruit basket to interviewer’s home address, which the interviewer had not given her
- did a tarot reading for the interviewer
- arrived at the interview dressed as a clown
- sent interviewer some beef stew with a note saying, “Eat hearty and hire me J”
- placed a timer on interviewer’s desk, started it, and told interviewer he would explain in 3 minutes why he was the perfect candidate
- sent the interviewer a lotto ticket
-
wore a florescent suit, and
- sent in a shoe to “get their foot in the door.”
Guess we can safely assume the guy in the clown suit wasn’t applying to the circus.
The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,076 hiring managers and human resource professionals between May 14 and June 5.
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