It’s Crazy, But It Got Him the Job
Ever sent a singing telegram as a follow-up?
This may sound hard to believe, but I know a guy who was looking for a job recently. We’ll call him Sean.
After looking around for a while, Sean came across a job opening that fit him perfectly. But instead of shooting off his application right away, he held back.
He really, really wanted this job. And like anyone who really, really wants a job, he didn’t want to blow it with a less than perfect application. He agonized over how to best present himself in his resume. He wasn’t sure what to say in his cover letter. He felt uncertain about quoting a salary requirement. He didn’t want to price himself out of the job, but he also didn’t want to sell himself too short.
So what did he do? He got creative. He posed as a comparable employer and posted a comparable job opening online. He asked applicants to send a resume, cover letter and salary their requirement.
He got dozens of “applications” from poor, unsuspecting job-seekers. His little ruse allowed him to gauge his competition, and to identify an appropriate salary range. With this newfound omniscience, he applied for the job. And guess what… he got it.
Perhaps I should have been outraged upon hearing Sean’s story. After all, it’s a pretty sneaky thing to do. Sure, I felt sorry for the other job-seekers. But mostly, I was just impressed. What a clever way to get an edge on the competition.
Here I was, all these years, just taking the standard approach to job hunting. No subterfuge. No real insight into my competition. No way of knowing if I was asking for too little or too much.
I would have never thought to do something like this. Hats off to you, Sean! Your tactics may be shady – possibly, even illegal – but they’re certainly effective.
And Sean’s story got me wondering– what other crazy things do people do to get a job? What unbelievable tactics do job-seekers use to get noticed, particularly when times are tough?
Most importantly, which ones actually work?
If you have a success story like Sean’s, please share in the comments below.
I don’t think there’s anything shady about this. That’s brilliant. Talk about getting some insider knowledge.
Sean’s little tactic wasn’t brilliant; it was shady to say the least. Sean could (and should) have simply done a Google search or called a professional organization to find out a salary range for the original position.
Freaking AWESOME! I love how clever he was! In my opinion, it was his out of the box thinking that got him the job. Well done, would love to see other stories…
I don’t think it’s brilliant. I think it’s unethical – consider the person (much like him) who saw his fake post and thought, “yes! This is the job i’ve been dreaming of!” – then spent several hours doing research, crafting a cover letter, reviewing his resume and submitting to a bogus job. We all know how much it sucks to submit to a job and not even get an automated response back that your resume was received. Now multiply that by 100 and that’s about how it would feel to learn later that you applied to a fake job just so some other candidate could poach your resume, cover letter and insight into that particular job market. If I learned that someone in my line of work had done that to me i’d want to punch them in the face.
Besides, I wonder if Sean plagiarized parts of other people’s cover letters/resume – getting an edge up on his competition by stealing.
We all know that a lot of people succeed in business by bending, breaking or redefining the rules to suit their own needs….that doesn’t make it right. Remember the most important rule – Do unto others as you’d have do unto you.
But I understand where Sean is coming from and why he did it. Something i’ve done in the past, which I think is a lot easier and a lot less unethical is to call a company in similar market that has a similar position to the one you’re applying to. For instance, if the job you’re applying to is in S.F., call a company in a city that has an equal cost of living, etc. – In this case New York. When a company is not actively hiring it’s easy to get on the phone with their HR people and ask them a few questions about that particular position at their company – you can flat out ask them how much they pay that position, what they look for in a candidate etc.
Sean, have fun at your new job. You seem like just the kind of guy that will succeed no matter how many people you hurt along the way.
I think it was an extremely creative manuever. I just wish I had thought of it first. Best wishes to you, Sean! You went the extra mile and it just goes to show that it can, indeed, payoff.
Wow, I gotta take my hat off to him. It does suck for the others, but those other people would have done the same thing if it meant the position. We do what we can to pay the bills.
I agree with Derrick: while just these traits might qualify him for, say, a sales position, if someone crafts a fake job I don’t doubt at all that he’s also plagiarizing good lines from someone else’s cover letter. And being in the market for a job right now, I also know how much that stress and energy could be put to better use than helping some other dude get a job off my information (which [a] he could have found elsewhere and [b] no, I would not have done myself even were I one of those people — however, I would consider suing him).
Is it creative? Sure. Is it honest? No. And it screws a lot of other people on the way. And while a job may, for a while, value that kind of “anything to get what I want/need” attitude, they may find themselves being the ones being cheated when a better opportunity comes along or when Sean has something he values more than doing what they want him to do right now. I think if I found out someone I’d hired had done something like that, I’d fire them immediately as a poor representation of my company’s standards. Maybe I’d have lost the best potential employee I was ever faced with, but I still wouldn’t have to be questioned about his motives.
Yeah, I wouldn’t really call Sean’s play ‘creative.’ A guy that has to go around stealing other people’s cover letters and resume to get his dream job is anything but creative.
I sort of thought this recession was supposed to teach us all not to be so greedy? To not build our wealth by taking advantage of others. I guess not.
…and Shannon, your comment: “those other people would have done the same thing if it meant the position. We do what we can to pay the bills.”
That’s the type thing people say to make themselves feel better about doing bad things.
He will need that creativity to keep that job longer than the 5 average for careers today. He is probably better off self-employed.
As far as “shady – possibly, even illegal” tactics, that is par for the course. Employers (ESPECIALLY TEMP AGENCIES) routinely post non-existent jobs to collect resumes or gauge the market.
Job ads should carry a certification of authenticity.
Just for the record – I know this person and he did not steal anyone’s information or copy anyone’s resume or cover letter. His was good enough that he didn’t have to – it turned out he was just a better candidate for the job than most of the other applicants.
Really, his main priority was to determine the right salary range, which is always a tricky one…
Interesting take on how to figure out “salary ranges”. I hate it when a job posting wants not only the cover letter and resume (expected) but also a “salary history”… it’s NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. Employers should already have a salary range in mind for the position and then determine what they’ll offer based on the candidate’s experience and value they bring to the company.
Unfortunately, in this current screwed up economy, the “employers” are holding all the cards. So, this fellow’s creative way to do “market research” is a good way to know what’s going on with the “competition”.
I’ve seen multiple agencies posting job openings with the exact same job title and description… they are all trying to submit their candidates to the same position. Also, many so-called employers post “phantom jobs” that are non-existent… but they want to find out “what’s out there” or “who’s out there” and what the market will bear.
This economy is like the ultimate “Survivor” game… Outwit, Outlast, Outplay.. and you win–you get the job. Otherwise, you are hosed.
I choose my own game… my own field… and my own rules… it confuses the other players when you have your own game and own rules… as well it should.
I do freelance editing and writing. I do freelance photography. I have my own business license. By making myself unique, I keep myself from being “commoditized” like just another job-seeker. (At least that’s the theory!)
Best regards,
Dave
This is one of those things you’re supposed to do but not talk about.
I agree with Derrick. I think what Sean did was unethical at best. And all the people who think this to be “creative” is scary.
This is one reason why I almost never reply to “blind” ads or to non-company email addresses. I also ignore any calls for salary history. Why would a company want this information up front? They could us it to disqualify you immediately as having been too highly paid in the past (so wouldn’t be happy with what we want to offer) or didn’t make enough (not experienced/successful enough for us).
Sean’s method is creative, in the same way that Enron manipulated accounting rules and energy markets to hide expenses and liabilities and drive up profits. It’s creative, the way as writing dubious subprime mortgages and packaging them for sale to unsuspecting investors. Sean stole hours and hope from the lives of many unemployed people, to his own benefit. Now that this guy is working for your company, what else will he steal, or lie about? Does your company need creative thieves and liars around?
As a Business Coach, if I found out my client did this, I would give him his money back and send him away.
A lie is a lie, no matter how you spin it or who’s doing the spinning.
slimy and creepy.
YEP, unethical…and I wonder if it’s also illegal to solicit such personal information from people without a real job to offer…. What right does he have to that information?
Sort of clever but wrong. I think any smart person wouldn’t need to do this to get a job; he/she should already know how to write an effective resume/cover letter and how to tackle questions regarding salary.
-Jack
Sean did was illegal and unethical. He could have done was check cost of living websites, career wages scale websites, etc. I have done that before. It helps. Also talking with people about the jobs or locations.
I wonder he may have taken my resume. That was illegal! There is a law about hiring people. It is through IRS. A company or store or business must post at least once a year for a position. For NY State, there is a state law if your business is in Empire Zone and it is required to advertised for job position opening. However, if they are only accepting applications but not hiring, that got to stop. Even some temps agency or employment agencies does this. I noticed that. Also some places. I know of a major grocery chain in my hometown in Central NY that says they are on top 5 best companies to work for. Well, I even did not get the job! They said they were only accepting applications.
I think we need to change to EMPLOYMENT LOTTERY SYSTEM. That way no more discrimination. No more unethical like Sean did or any companies just wanted to accept applications or resumes. This ELS is designed to draft people. Remember the military drafts? Same thing! When you want that position, you must fill out an index card your name, SSN, address, email or phone and a department of labor official will do the draft and announce the person name over the radio, internet, and television. I know its thousands of jobs so it will be announced on bottom on tv screen. A website will air person name and city, etc.
This means NBA, NFL, etc must follow ELS, no more best player drafting like they do now. Hey, GMAC would have gotten a job with NBA under my ELS rather than what NBA did. That is why I hate NBA for not hiring GMAC.
Its time we have ELS. I am about to push that with my federal reps (Congress and Senate) for law. In two years, I can laugh and have the draft of that position I am seeking for!
That company needs to read this article about Sean and get him fired. Also put on his employment record that he is not to be hired ever again or the new employer of his will be sued.
In no way was this ethical or “clever” – if I find a new way to have someone do my job for me while I do my own thing, that’s no different. Taking advantage of others is not the way to go, hopefully karma catches up with him. The world is going to shit because of people like this.
Also this doesn’t need a system, it needs people to learn how to be people and not manipulative greedy punks.
Here is another aspect of this story no one may have yet seen. By doing the unconventional this guy not only got the info he needed to compete more effectively, but one unique quality he presented to employers is reciprocity. What can you demonstrate to employers that will make them want to hire you so that 10 yrs later when you are sitting in your bosses chair making the same decisions on who to hire etc, that will prove you can see their problems and issues from your bossed perspective, which is a principle of reciprocity, and even the bible’s golden rule ” do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This is not only a good business strategy but also a good marriage partner strategy. How many wives, or husbands would love to have their mate try to see things from their won point of view. This can not help but make you more endearing to those you relate to; in business or marriage or family issues like your kids.