(and believe me when I say that some of these are random)
First up I want to mention a disclaimer – Try these at your own risk, nearly all of them have the potential to backfire on you and some of them may be dangerous. This is not a list for the traditionalist and is probably more targeted towards people that need a job, any job – not a specific occupation.
Stand on the side of the road with a sign saying ‘Work Wanted’ – I used to see this all the time when I lived in Cairns and it worked. Basically the guys would get dressed in their labouring gear, pack an esky with their lunch and a water bottle, write ‘Work Wanted’ in big black nico on a piece of cardboard and stand on the side of the highway early in the morning (about the time farmers were on their way to the paddock). This was mostly for fruit picking work and I’d use caution trying it. First of all, I’m not entirely sure it’s legal and second you never know who you are getting in the car with. The driver could be the next Ivan Milat (just saying).
Get in touch with A Current Affair or other news program – If you have a good story, you can get in touch with some of the news/special interest programs and see if they will feature you. The thing is you need an angle. For example I once saw a lady on their who despite having multiple university degrees could not get a job in a fast food restaurant because she was ‘over qualified’. The news program did a story on her and the job offers flooded in. Unless you have a compelling angle, this is a total waste of time but if you can think up something, it’s a bonafide way to drum up the job offers.
Pull a stunt – Basically pull a stunt (maybe try to beat a record or something) so you can get free media attention and people contact you and offer you a job. For example, you may try to make a record of fastest typing speed (if going for admin), let the media know you are attempting to break the record (think little radio stations and newspapers that don’t have much else on) and tell them that you are doing it because you need to find a job. Again, watch the offers role in (it doesn’t matter if you beat the record or not – just drum up the publicity before you attempt it)
Send your resume as a chocolate bar – Actually somebody did really do this because I was reading an article about it last year. The guy (or girl, can’t remember) got their resume put on a candy wrapper, wrapped up some chocolate and sent it to the employer. I can’t remember if she/he got the job but they did get an interview. Basically if the traditional method isn’t working try something wacky instead.
Use Vistaprint – So Vistaprint is a printing company that offers really cheap printing solutions (business cards, postcards, t-shirts, pen ect). You can make up a ‘For Hire’ t-shirt explaining that you are looking for work and wear it around the place. (This is an excellent conversation starter and will help you out with networking). You can also make ‘Work Wanted’ business cards to hand out around the place.
Ok, guys that’s the list so far but I’m super interested to hear if you have tried any of these and what the results were. Also I want to know if you have any other suggestions or if you have seen any other ‘out there’ ways to find a job.
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