In a dog eat dog world, finding a job can be a tough gig. Especially when you have to fight with other candidates with better qualifications, more experience, or just better than you are. So how can you set yourself apart from the rest? Well, a resume is a great way to start!
Don’t have the creative juices in you? We’ve rounded up some of the most creative resumes that we’ve seen to get you inspired.
1. Candidate Disguises Himself as a Doughnut Delivery Man
Back in 2016, Lithuanian man (and marketing genius) Lukas Yla made headlines after posing off as a delivery man and dropping off a box of doughnuts to all the companies he’s interested in working at.
But that’s not all! Inside each of the boxes, he included the message, “Most resumes end up in the trash - mine in your belly” and a link to his Linkedin profile. According to the crafty marketer, he’s sent doughnuts to some big name companies like Lyft, Uber, and Postmates.
Was his stunt successful? Yla claims that he has landed 10 interviews with tech companies and ad agencies in the San Francisco area. The dude even mentioned receiving a few direct responses from some of the CEO’s he’s directly targeted as well.
Maybe you too should stop by a Krispy Kreme or J-Co before your next interview.
2. Turning the Tables
If you haven’t heard of the Malaysian man who went internationally viral because of his Linkedin stunt, boy, do we have a story for you! In an attempt to get noticed by hiring managers, Azril Hakim went on Linkedin and submitted his application.
Sounds ordinary enough right? However, Azril’s job application was anything but ordinary. This is his application:
“Hi I’m looking for an interviewer to fill this seat”
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Needless to say, his application took Linkedin by storm. Azril received over 15,000 likes and 900 comments on his post. His post also managed to attract attention from international corporations (e.g. Linkedin).
3. Sending in a Sweet Resume
Sometimes, the simplest things in life give us the sweetest pleasures. Commenters on the online forum Reddit received a surprise after someone posted a photo of a resume for an experienced marketing professional printed onto a candy bar.
Impressed? So were the hiring managers because according to the original poster, Nick got the job. The custom made candy bars allegedly cost about US$2.50 (approx. S$3.40), and the candy Nick gave out was a Crunch bar.
We like Kit Kats here at BCG Singapore hehe. Read the original post on Reddit here.
4. Parody Campaign
When Nina Mufleh wanted a job with Airbnb, she began researching about all the different ways, the multi-million dollar company could expand further. Mufleh discovered an untapped market for the company - the Middle East.
She began by carefully curating a report filled with a business strategy, potential partnership opportunities, key international events in the area and even the reasons how she’ll mesh well with the company. And her hard work paid off!
Mufleh received interview offers from Airbnb and a host of other impressive companies including Uber, Linkedin, and Dropbox. Unfortunately, Airbnb told Mufleh that there wasn’t a position available for her. However, the PR and exposure she received from her viral resume landed her a position as a freelance growth manager at Upwork - a company which connects freelancers to potential companies and clients. Not bad.
5. Parody Websites
Philippe Dubost is a massive Amazon (the shopping website) fan. So to get the conglomerate’s attention, he decided to craft an Amazon page for himself. What’s awesome about this resume is that it’s instantly recognizable. Everybody who’s anybody will be able to identify design as Amazon’s.
Needless to say, his resume went viral - receiving over 1.5 million views and 150 job offers. Dubost eventually accepted an offer as a tech product manager with Birchbox.
Designer Eric Gandhi also pitched a similar resume to web giant, Google. Taking cues from Dubost, the Google fan designed a resume to mimic Google’s iconic style and search results. The resume proved to be a hit (with Google) and they invited him in for an interview. View Eric Gandhi's viral resume here.
Not too bad right?
6. Hit the Road Jack
From 2017 - 2018, David Casarez was going through a hard time. He was homeless and had spent a year sleeping in his car. But despite the cards he was dealt with, Casarez made a sign that read, “Homeless, Hungry 4 Sucess. Take A Resume” and took to the streets to hand out his cvs.
Casarez’s attempts went unnoticed until a passing driver took his photo and tweeted it out, landing the homeless man 200 job offers. According to the driver, Jasmine Scofield, in less than an hour, some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies such as Google, Apple, Netflix, and Linkedin reached out to her.
This just goes to show you that with hard work, anything is possible. Congratulations Casarez!
A creative resume is just one of many ways to get a hiring manager interested in you. But you don’t have to go that far!
Here at BGC Group, a Singapore job agency, we know what makes a resume...well good. You’d be surprised to find that hiring managers and recruiters have turned down great candidates who make trivial mistakes on their resumes (e.g. turning down a candidate who submitted a resume with a graduation photo). We want to give you a fighting chance to show HR managers in Singapore that you’re a worthy candidate. Check out our article for killer resume tips to step up your job hunting game.
Still worried you won’t be able to land your next job? Head down to BGC Singapore’s office (10 Collyer Quay Centre) and speak to one of our recruiters! Don’t be scared! We’re providing you a free service, which is, helping bridge you to your next job.