I Need an Old Priest and a Young Priest to Get Me This Job!

Last week HRSBT covered  helicopter parents and the crazy ways they’ve tried to get their children into careers. Is it ironic that CareerBuilder has now released survey results highlighting unusual things jobseekers have done to get noticed? Probably not, but it still makes for good HRSBT fodder! Surprisingly, helicopter parents did not make this list!

The survey was conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between May 11, 2016, and June 7, 2016, and included more than 2,300 full-time, United States hiring and Human Resources managers across industries and company sizes. CareerBuilder asked hiring managers to give examples of unusual tactics jobseekers used to stand out. Here are the top 13:

1. Candidate had a priest contact the hiring manager and ask for candidate to be hired.
2. Candidate bought a first-class upgrade to sit next to hiring manager on a transatlantic flight.
3. During the month of October, candidate came dressed in a costume for Halloween.
4. Candidate’s wife made homemade lavender soap bars for the hiring manager as a thank-you for taking the time to interview the candidate.
5. Candidate asked hiring manager to share an ice cream cone.
6. Candidate sent a pair of embroidered socks with a note saying he would knock the company’s socks off if hired.
7. Candidate showed up in his camp counselor attire with some of the children from the camp he worked for to show his leadership capabilities.
8. Candidate sent a shoe with a flower in it as a thank-you after the interview. The note said: “Trying to get my foot in the door.”
9. Candidate mailed hiring manager money in an envelope.
10. Candidate arrived to interview in a white limousine, an hour early, dressed in a three-piece suit. The open position was middle wage and had a required dress code of khakis, company button-down, and black shoes.
11. Candidate kissed hiring manager.
12. Candidate gave hiring manager a book on a subject he knew candidate manager enjoyed.
13. Candidate wore a tie that had the name of the company he was interviewing with on it.

While these may not be the best ways to “get your foot in the door,” they certainly are unusual—and most sound like bribes!