The Boston Globe has a profile today of some job seekers who are going to extraordinary measures to market themselves for work…
I’ve seen and heard about some pretty crazy antics…
As a recruiter, I had people drop off resumes with an 8×10 photo of themselves… unfortunately, many of them were the equivalent of “Glamour Shots” and not appropriate for the workplace. Then there was a marketing person, who sent a folding chair to a company with a note that said, “I hope there’s a seat for me there.” Hilarious, but not effective. Or, the guy who offered Red Sox tickets to a hiring manager, hoping they could go together and get some face time. (He was told by another person at that firm, “forget the Red Sox tickets, send him a bottle of whiskey.”) The manager didn’t take him up on the tickets, or offer him the job.
While you may be tempted to go above and beyond to get some attention, more often than not it comes across as more desperate than determined.
What can you do instead? Spend time understanding the company and its needs, the people and any possible similarities (schools, connections in common), and the job posting in detail, and craft messaging that’s so spot on that you don’t need a carrier pigeon to drop it off.