First off, the word “wacky” should not be used in any form of writing.  Second, this Yahoo Hot Jobs article – Wacky Job-Seeker Stunts – lists some . . . zany gimmicks for attempting to land a marketing/advertising position:

• Puts up posters of himself in your company parking lot.
• Attaches pineapple scratch-and-sniff stickers to his resume.
• Announces his candidacy with a singing telegram.
• Sends lottery tickets with her resume.
• Rents a billboard that you can see from your office to list his qualifications.
• Bakes cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired.
• Delivers pre-paid Chinese food, including a fortune cookie with his name and number.

Yeah, it doesn’t work (emphasis mine):

Less than half of the executives surveyed — 46% in advertising and 34% in marketing — said they might consider an applicant with a gimmicky resume, and only 2% of marketing execs and 8% of ad execs said gimmicks would help a candidate get hired. In other fields, where creativity is a less critical job skill, a candidate who sends a shoe “to get a foot in the door” will probably be dismissed as unprofessional, recruiters say.

Standing out is one thing, singing telegrams are another.  I’m always amazed that candidates don’t do the simple things to land a job like simply calling in to a company if they provide a number.  A well-written resume with a focused cover email goes a long way.  A network contact may have an in or know somebody in the company.

Again, it is amazing how candidates will focus on gimmicks when content is king. 

Of course, they were marketing positions.

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This sentence is from a cover email regarding a sales position:

I am educated up to an MBA.

I still am not sure what that means.

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Especially when you can simply look at someone’s shoes.  This Yahoo News story has to be an April Fool’s joke:

Mindset Media, a media company that examines personality traits of different consumers, found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader.

These qualities were defined as having ideas and vision, and a style with others that is both inclusive and decisive.

The survey of 7,500 people, using market research group Nielsen’s online panel, found multi-sneaker buyers were 50 percent more likely to be very assertive and 47 percent more likely to be spontaneous.

It gets worse better:

Hybrid car owners were found to be 78 percent more likely to be highly creative than other people and less dogmatic.

This has to be a prank.

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Here is a picture of my backyard this morning:

This is no April Fool’s joke – 7″ of snow yesterday and last night.  Honestly, do you wonder why we normally recruit locals for Minnesota-based sales positions?

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This post from Steven Rothberg over at CollegeRecruiter.com had me laughing.  Isn’t it amazing how out-of-touch some candidates can be during a phone screen or interview?

From Steven’s post:

• Candidate asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.
• Candidate smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room.
• Candidate said she could not provide a writing sample because all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was “classified.”

You have to read the other 7 mistakes in the list.  Unbelievable…and entertaining.

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Here’s a fun way to start your Monday – this sounds like the premise to a Steven Wright joke:

“It costs almost 1.7 cents to make a penny,” said U.S. Mint director Ed Moy.

Each year, the U.S. Mint makes 8 billion pennies, at a cost of $130 million. American taxpayers lose nearly $50 million in the process.

The penny’s not alone. It costs nearly 10 cents to make a nickel.

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I have been searching through online resumes and came across this commentary in a cover letter:

I am a 63 year old male just recently let go from my job because I’m too old. Don’t worry, I’m fighting it but in the meantime, I need a job.

You know, some things are better left unsaid.

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If you are truly looking for frustration inspiration today, check out this article from Forbes.com – How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20.  Yup, the article profiles of 5 different teenage millionaires.

I thought the second person was amazing:

Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents’ holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.

But the little guy didn’t stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.

He bought his little sister’s collection of Beanie Babies.  Now that is an entrepreneur!  There is far more to his story if you read the article, but this may sum it up best:

“I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month,” says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, “Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million.”

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Every year this type of study comes out – U.S. workers are not getting enough sleep.  I don’t know how anyone can truly know if this is accurate or not.  Nonetheless, this little tidbit is interesting in a trivial way:

The average wake up is at 5:35 a.m. and it’s followed by about two hours and 15 minutes at home before heading out to work, according to the survey. Average bedtime is 10:53.

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I got a kick out of this – I’m looking through resumes online and I came across one that was listed as confidential.  Candidates put a title to their resume that often says “Experienced Sales Professional” or something of that sort.  The candidate can then hide their personal contact information (name, address, phone, etc.) and their current employer.  This person did that.

Except the title for their resume was their actual name as in “John Doe’s resume.”

Oops.

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