More Employers Seeing Unusual Tactics From Job Seekers in 2010, Finds New CareerBuilder Survey

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Jun 09, 2010, 07:00 ET

CHICAGO, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Even as the job market improves, with unemployment still hovering around 10 percent, job seekers have turned to unconventional methods to stand out from the competition. According to a new survey from CareerBuilder, nearly one-quarter of hiring managers (22 percent) reported that they are seeing more job seekers try unusual tactics to capture their attention in 2010 compared to last year. This is up from 18 percent of hiring managers who said the same in 2009 and 12 percent in 2008.

"While we are seeing positive signs in the job market as employers gradually add headcount, competition is still high for open positions," said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder. "As a result, more candidates are turning to unconventional tactics to attract the attention of hiring managers. While these tactics may work occasionally, they still need to be done with professionalism. That way, candidates are remembered for what they can offer an organization and not just for an unusual antic."

Some hiring managers report that unusual job seeking tactics can be effective. Nearly one-in-ten (9 percent) said they have hired someone who used an unconventional tactic to get their attention. When asked what unusual job search methods made them hire a job seeker, hiring managers reported the following:

Candidate brought in a DVD of his former boss giving him a recommendation.
Candidate applying for a casino table game position came into my office and started dealing on my desk while pretending to talk to players, which showed me her guest service skills.
Candidate sent in a letter that explained how to solve an issue our company was having with a certain type of technology.
Candidate who was a prospective teacher brought in a box of props to demonstrate her teaching style.
Candidate came prepared with unique business cards featuring our logo and a self-introduction brochure.
Candidate wrote a full business plan for one of our products with his resume submission.
Candidate created a full graphics portfolio on our brand.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,778 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non government) ages 18 and over between February 10 and March 2, 2010. With a pure probability sample of 2,778, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.86 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.