“Everything old is new again,” says the song from the Broadway show Chicago. A jobseeker recently found this axiom to be true. When her Internet-only search for a marketing position didn’t work, she tried some old methods and landed her dream job!
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Xingyi Yan, a recent University of Toronto graduate, posted hundreds of applications via jobsites and directly to companies via their career webpages and e-mail but had few interviews and no offers, according to an article in the Toronto Star.
Since Yan’s visa would soon run out if she did not get a job (she is from China), she decided she had to try another way to get herself a job in advertising or marketing as soon as possible. In the Great Depression, out-of-work people would often walk around wearing a sandwich board saying they were seeking work. Yan took the idea into the 21st century by initiating a “street sign search,” writing “U OF T GRAD FOR HIRE, TAKE MY RÉSUMÉ & GET A FREE XMAS GIFT, MARKETING/AD JOB” on a large white board and standing on a corner near the office buildings of her target employers.
After 7 days on the pavement, Yan had 15 interviews lined up!
Cleverly, Yan created a PowerPoint® presentation chronicling her unique job search to show at the interviews. Reprise Media hired her on the spot, with the managing director, Joseph McConnellogue, telling the Toronto Star that while the company usually takes time in making hiring decisions, Yan’s “unique approach” convinced them to make an offer right away. Saying her new position as a search analyst is her “dream job,” Yan told the newspaper that she is excited to be working and not worrying. Click here to see Yan’s blog about her experience.
I’m curious about how she dressed while toting her sign. She must have stood out from others who hold signs pleading for help only to have people pass them by without notice.