Daniel Conway wrestled in gravy, bribed a recruiter with Monopoly money and dressed up like Batman, all in the hopes of landing a job. He’s been at it since March and, so far, no serious job offers. Still, he considers this method of job hunting to be a success. Conway documents his stunts at The Extreme Job Hunter.
“I’ve done 17 stunts and landed 10 interviews because of them. That’s a lot higher percentage than I ever got sending out CVs [resumes].” In today’s world of black hole internet applications, that is an astonishing success rate, except for the fact that he hasn’t quite yet landed a job. Why not? Conway has an explanation for that: “I’m not a great interviewer. Part of the reason I haven’t nailed it is because of the pressure in a half an hour where they ask you questions, and you are trying to find the answers that they want you to say.”
To keep reading, click here: Extreme Job Candidates: Should You Hire Them
One of his statements caught my attention immediately. He said, “Part of the reason I haven’t nailed it is because of the pressure in a half an hour where they ask you questions, and you are trying to find the answers that they want you to say.” When I interview candidates, I am looking for their honest answers. Blatant attempts to pander to whatever the candidate believes we want to hear ensures that they don’t make the short list. Being honest is imperative to increase the chances of a good fit between company and potential employee. Being less than candid raises concerns that we aren’t getting to know “the real you.” After all these years, honesty is still the best policy, IMHO.
I agree that it should be that way, but I see way too many companies asking questions like, “How many hairdressers are their in Dubuque!” They aren’t interested in knowing the real you, they are interested in seeing if you can come up with the “right” answers.
So, poor candidates are left to guess!
But companies that ask questions like that are typically not trying to see if you can come up with or know the right answer; they are trying to see how you think. They want to see your thought process in trying to figure out how many hairdressers there are in Dubuque. Computational questions like that can say a lot about an interviewees logical deduction and quantitative skills.
Isn’t it like all of the HR interviewers claim that they are looking for honest answers etc, but t the end of the day they are picking candidates based on boring pattern (school/experience/well played interview)
Getting attention is all well and good, but IMO you still need to make sure your interview skills are sharp as a tack and your job skills and materials are polished, professional, and targeted to that particular job. Someone might interview a guy who dresses like Batman out of curiosity because they like Batman or wonder, “What is up with this dude?” That’s not enough to convince them to hire you (although it would definitely get my attention because I LOVE Batman).
I think you nailed that when you talked about the video lady being professional and polished, with actual skills she could showcase (albeit in an unconventional way). I’m sure some people will stop reading at Batman Guy getting ten interviews and think, “Oh yeah! I gotta try this!”
” . . . the video lady being professional and polished.”
Yes, it was so well done that I wondered how much she did “alone” and how much was done with the “blessings” of her former company. It was, afterall, good publicity for both her and her former employer.
This has apparently worked for him!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2468996/Jobless-man-auctioned-eBay-wrestled-gravy-desperate-hunt-work-finally-gets-job.html