RSS for Comments

RSS for Entries

Can gimmicks help you land a job?

I know there are a lot of desperate job seekers out there, but is it ever a good idea to throw out the standard job-hunting playbook and do something crazy? Possibly.

This morning when I turned on my computer, I was greeted with an interesting tweet from @iJmeeks, or James Meeks in the real world.

hey @careerdiva i’m trying to get my career in order. take a look at my website i created to get hired hiremeaccenture.com

He calls himself “a sales and marketing guru” and wants Accenture, the consulting giant, to hire him. To that end, he put together a HireMeAccenture.com website and it’s pretty much his pitch to the company.

I think his strategy is anything but meek, which I love. But can it get Meeks the gig he seeks?

Clearly, the guy is getting frustrated with the drawn out job-seeking process This from his blog:

I’ve completed numerous online applications, networked with countless people within the company, sold myself to recruiters in person and over the phone, and still I haven’t received one single interview. My pursuit of career opportunities with Accenture has been going on for approximately 9 months now and I’ve never felt more ignored in my life LOL. All I want is a shot at Management Consulting. Is that too much to ask for?? I’m not asking for a salary of 100k a year (although it would be nice!), I’m not asking for a desk, or an office with a window.

I don’t blame him. He messaged me that he’s only worked two of the last 15 months and “after sending out thousands of resumes i decided enough was enough and let’s think outside the box.”

Oh yeah, he’s gotten out of the box big time. But will hiring managers turn their noses up to him?

I emailed a hiring manager from Virginia that works for a major publishing chain and she sort of dug Meeks’ approach.

“I like it, it’s pretty cool. Most companies have an applicant tracking system that allows a candidate to attach or imbed something like this. We allow it for talent, instead of receiving all those tapes, this is much better.”

That doesn’t mean getting creative should be everyone’s choice.

Phyllis Mufson, a career consultant from Philadelphia is all for creativity but, she stressed, you have to find the right tactic.

She advised job seekers

“Generate lots of ideas then consider these questions:

Will this approach be compelling to the employer I want to reach? Do I have the skills to carry out my idea, or the money to hire someone to do it for me? Have you exhausted traditional routes?”

She offered one interesting example.

“A woman applied for a job she wanted dearly and she was turned down. The next day she went to the office anyway, and sat in reception from nine to five. When asked why she was there she said, ‘I want to work here and I’ll work for free.’ She came every day for five days, then they let her work without pay. In another three weeks they hired her, full-time. True story, and now she’s a senior executive in her field.

“Was that audacious? Absolutely. Did she have anything to lose? No. But the vast majority of people I work with (and I’ve worked with hundreds) are hired by effective traditional means and by that I mean networking.”

Meeks’ approach, however, may be lacking in a few key ways.

“If he wants a job at Accenture, I suggest that he understand how to market to Accenture,” advised Dora Vell, an executive recruiter from Waltham, MA. “More specifically, he needs to network with Accenture people / partners and provide some thought pieces or some type of analysis. Accenture is the antithesis of mass marketing. So in his mass marketing web efforts, he is not only displaying a lack of understanding of Accenture but also a lack of understanding of the culture/DNA of Accenture.” Tony Beshara, author of “Unbeatable Resumes: America’s Top Recruiter Reveals What Really Gets You Hired,” said: “This kind of ‘branding’ is grossly overrated. Most companies could care less about this kind of thing.”

As for Meeks execution:

“Associating being hired by Accenture on a piece of cardboard isn’t probably what they had in mind,” Beshara said. “A little too much sizzle and not quite enough steak.”

And one of my Twitter friends @CareerKeri, aka Keri Lyn Fresenius, wondered if targeting just one firm in this way was wise. “Hiring managers may love the marketing demo of site but directing toward 1 employer is too pushy,” she tweeted.

Indeed, there is a fine line between being too pushy and being just pushy enough.

As far as Meeks’ case, only Accenture can decide that now.

Similar Posts:

Share

«
»

Leave a Reply