By Snezana Stojilkovic; Chicago, Illinois
A couple of years ago, I was looking for a job in Marketing, and I found one promising. It was a billboard company, looking for someone who will be a go-getter, creative, but also responsible for running the errands. The owner seemed little angry in his ad, complaining how he received 3000 resumes and letters and they were all the same. Then he made a list of what one should do if wanted an interview. Basically, asking to be different, original. Honestly, at first I was shocked by the angry tone of the ad, but on the other hand, I was kind of challenged. In my mind it was like, hm, this is very interesting. Let me see if I can do what he wants.
I Googled it. Their website wasn’t really helpful, the information they provided were insufficient. I found the history of that firm, location, and the next day I called and introduced myself as a potential client just to get more information about what they were doing, more importantly how they were doing and the current prices. I checked the Facebook page, but since I found out who the owner was, I checked his personal page too and learned that he had a dog that is often in the office.
Then, I made a picture of a billboard with my picture on it, with a beautiful landscape behind me with big letters: Congratulations, you found the perfect candidate! And I sent it. No resume, no letter. Someone would say it was a stupid move, but I would say it was a bold move. In that case that was my cover letter.
I got the email the next day. He was interested in setting a meeting in his office. Lovely. I wrote an actual letter, just in case. When I got there I saw his big dog. I called him by his name and played with him for a while, and I could tell you that the owner was surprised. He looked at me and said: “I see that you did your homework.” I smiled. “I am a journalist. I do my homework.”
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