Recent La Salle graduate hands resumes out to passing cars in Philadelphia
Corn on the Job’s feeling a little weird today. There is a part of me that’s very excited, impressed, and inspired by the creativity of a recent La Salle graduate, and his job search antics. And there is another part of me that’s feeling somewhat disappointed, and maybe even bitter with a recent graduate from Monroe College. In a terribly corny effort to keep the COTJ theme, I’m going to present both of these recent college graduates situations in COTJ’s very first “Good Ear vs. Bad Ear”.
Good Ear
Sean Christman, a recent La Salle Graduate has done it. He has gone, and done it! Sean found a way to stand out against other job seekers without relying on his resume, social media, networking, or any other item on the list of ‘normal’ job seeker tactics. On Wednesday, July 22, Sean found himself wearing his finest suit, standing on the median of a busy Philadelphia street (presumingly during rush hour), holding copies of his resume for passing cars. Brilliant. I’ve never successfully guessed how many jelly beans were in the jar, but I’ll try to guess how many cars passed by Sean that day? 1,000? 2,000? 5,000? Your guess is as good as mine, but the answer is, enough. Lets just say that Sean gave out 100 resumes that day, we’ll shoot low. So, where did Sean’s resume go that day:
- His resume absolutely ended up in the hands of hiring managers, entry-level to senior-level professionals, and possibly executives of organizations in the Philadelphia area.
- Sean successfully reached multiple industries and organizations without needing an ounce of help from a search firm or the glorious world wide web.
- Lastly, his resume was picked up by those who could possibly refer him on to a company, friend, or co-worker.
Sean may not see his actions from that day directly result in him receiving a job, but at least in COTJ’s opinion, Sean has proven himself way beyond an interview. Many of us say, “actions speak louder than words”, correct? Well, isn’t an interview just a big pile of words? Sure, some interview techniques can prove to be damn effective, but it’s ALWAYS a gamble. Sean has proven himself to be creative, innovative, and in my mind hard working. His strategy proves he’s far from lazy, able to think outside of the box and carry out a plan. When you think about it, Sean created his own social network that day, without even touching a computer, or attending a group meeting. Amazingly, he found a way to completely randomize where his resume ends up, reaching an unknown number of Philadelphia area organizations and industries. Again, brilliant! Now, someone tell Sean to contact me so I can set up an interview with this chap. I’m beyond interested to see how everything turns out for Sean.
Bad Ear
Trina Thompson has just recently graduated from Monroe College with a bachelor’s in Information Technology. Trina Thompson has just recently sued Monroe College. Trina Thompson is an idiot, but maybe not just recently.
Trina can’t find a job, so has decided to sue Monroe College in the Bronx for the cost of her tuition, $70,000. Thompson is stating the school’s Office of Career Advancement hasn’t provided her with enough help to land her first job. Jesus Christ, give me a break.
Here’s my advice to Trina:
- Get yourself on Linkedin. I checked, and it looks like you’ve decided not to join in on the fun.
- Attend networking events, specifically for IT professionals like yourself.
- Read up on COTJ, I’ll make you smile and prepare you for an interview. Free of cost!
- If you need serious help with your resume, consider working with a resume writer. Contact Elaine Basham at The Resume Group. Her email is elaine@theresumegroup.com
- Don’t be lazy, read up above about the “Good Ear”, and think of a creative way to market yourself.
Ok, I’m done for today. Thanks for reading Corn Heads!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article, but I have very mixed feelings with the method the La Salle graduate went about getting noticed.
1. I could see his method in the same light as you wrote it in. He did what he had to do to make something happen for himself. He might have a family to feed, and he’s doing what he needs to do to put food on the table. Good for him. But…
2. We all can’t go peddling our resume on the street. That would be outlawed quicker than a strip-club in Amish country. Can’t it be said that instead of putting in the hard laborous hours of searching, networking, tweeking and repeating, that Sean took the easy way out? Anyone could get a clean shave, put on a sharp suit, and hand out resumes on the street to stand out. Not everyone has the skills or mental touchness it takes to network, stand out from their accomplishments, and weather the current job-market funk, which could speak volumes for their character.
I think there are probably some excellent viewpoints to support either argument regarding Sean’s method of standing out, but I’m afraid I can’t find anything good to say about the plantiff, and the bad things I could say are too bad to say.
Thoughts?
Haha, cornheads.
Rich, what do you recommend to a recent grad who mails resumes directly to a company?
Effective?
Hey Rich!
Hope you are well! I stumbled across your blog when I got my LinkedIn updates for the week. I really admire your style. Honest, to the point, and realistic. I am on the fence of Sean’s style of handing out resumes (comes off as slightly desperate) but you can’t fault the kid for trying! Not to mention I would totally agree with the parallels you drew between his efforts to get a job and the potential employee he will be. As for Trina… yeah, good luck finding a job. If you walked into my office with that “you owe me” attitude I would make it a VERY short interview. Someone who feels that as a recent grad will only get worse with experience.
John- as an HR Director who receives and reviews hundreds of resumes in a week, I would suggest going the email route to send your resume. It is easy for us HR folks to track & search in the future. My personal feelings about mailed-in resumes are that it makes me think “do they not know how to use a computer?” You most likely won’t get the individual attention you think you will get. Work your connections-family, friends, former classmates… those people will hand your resume (well… email it) to the right person and get you an interview! Best of luck in your search!
Awesome as usual! Good work!
Rich, I came across your blog via WP’s Tag Surfer feature…so we should have common interests, right? We do both blog about job search, so far so good, WP!
Trina Thompson’s lawsuit is totally without merit…bad ear indeed.
But I truly thought you were being sarcastic in your praise of Sean Christman. I hadn’t heard of him, but unfortunately Sean joins many other similarly desperate job seekers whose “thinking outside the box” tactics have certainly successfully given them attention, but not the kind they are looking for:
http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2009/07/07/tight_market_makes_job_seekers_ever_more_creative/
(I suggest we probably don’t want to know what actual job offers Lawson Clarke, for example, has received from his attention grabbing job search effort).
Rich, I would like to throw out one of a number of links from my blog on this topic. Everyone’s comments much appreciated:
Nick Corcordilos’ book “Ask the Headhunter” – worth its weight in gold for job hunters…
http://mikeurbonas.com/2009/07/02/job-hunters-read-this-book-ask-the-headhunter/
Regards,
Mike
http://mikeurbonas.com
http://www.theonion.com/content/amvo/college_grad_suing_alma_mater
Thanks for your input James. Always appreciated.
You are correct, what Sean has done won’t, and shouldn’t become a go to for job seekers. It certainly would be outlawed. What he did accomplish though, was something incredibly innovative, proving he can “think outside of the box”. Maybe he HAS tried other avenues, and he most likely realized that other recent graduates were right there with him. I firmly believe that when looking for a job, one must utilize every ounce of creativity in order to stand out, while also keeping in mind traditional methods that are proven to work.
I’m determined to sit down and interview Sean in order to understand his thought process, and find out exactly what happened after the fact. Until then, my opinion is that if someone is crazy enough to go through with a plan like this, then they surely have tried other strategies. I guess we will find out, hopefully I can get a hold of Sean soon, and write up a nice article.
Thank
Hi John,
Thanks for your comment. E-mail is certainly the best way to go. Can’t help but agree with Barbara. If your resume isn’t getting you a response, try networking into the company you wish to work for. Learn the names of people at the company, and search them out on Linkedin. Look for ways to make connections, and carry out your networking plan.
Hey Mike – glad WP sent you my way. Thanks for your comment.
I’m standing by my opinion of Sean! I’m thrilled that a candidate has gone and stirred up the pot a bit. While it’s not ideal, it’s different, and refreshing. I’ll work on setting up an interview with Sean, stay tuned.
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