Hiring Execs Recount Most Unusual Candidate Pitches

November 8, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - In a tough hiring environment, it can be difficult to get your foot in the door - unless you know how to stick out from the crowd.

Even then, there are good ways to stand out – and not-so-good ways. A recent poll of 150 senior executives by specialized staffing service provider Accountemps revealed some of the more unusual – and not always effective – ways in which job candidates tried to make that statement.

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The survey, which included the perspectives of management in human resources, finance and marketing departments, asked, “”What is the most unusual thing you have seen or heard of a job candidate doing to ‘stand out from the crowd’?”

Sample responses included:

  • “A job seeker sent a shoe with his resume and a note saying, ‘I just want to get my foot in the door.'”
  • “One candidate came in barefoot.”
  • “A job seeker included an 8-by-10 inch beauty-pageant photo of herself.”
  • “A candidate put confetti in the resume package, which made a huge mess.”
  • “One woman brought a poodle to the interview because she didn’t want to leave it in the car.”
  • “An applicant sent his resume on a bottle of alcohol to the company’s CEO.”
  • “All of the important words were circled on the resume.”
  • “Someone sent a packet of coffee with a note that said, ‘Have a coffee on me.'”
  • “I was sent a piece of gum with the resume and asked to ‘chew on the facts.'”
  • “An applicant came in dressed as a clown — in a colorful, satin clown suit with red hair, a bright-red nose and big shoes.”
  • “We received a giant cookie with writing on the package that said, ‘I’d like to be a chip in your cookie.”

What’s the most unusual pitch YOU’VE ever gotten? Email us at editors@plansponsor.com

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