How did I get an interview in a tough market?
Well, it’s a weird turn of events. It seems only just a few years ago that I was out of College, and asking my parent’s friends how they got a job, and what they did to get into a company. And now it’s my turn to answer that question. Wow. Anyway, since I do have a good story on the issue, I figured I would pass it along………
So here it is….I am sure you might have heard the story before, but here it is again;
To get into an Advertising agency, when I was in College, I heard that you had to do something “different” to get into an interview. And you needed to major in advertising which was in the liberal arts college, and be all arty farty……. Well, I was not deterred. So I heard things like send them a pizza, and put your resume on the cover, just to get in the door. Or that one guy sent a shoe, with a resume inside it, saying “I just want to get my foot in the door.” Cute little ideas to get into the world of cute little ideas.
If you want the attention of creative people, you need to be creative and have creative ideas. If you want to get the attention of financial people, you need to have good financial ideas, etc…
So, for some reason, and I really can’t remember why I thought of it now, but when I was thinking of things to use as a medium to get people to know that I was creative, and get my resume in their face, and was able to send them something that everybody likes….. I thought of chocolate. Everybody likes chocolate. So I made a chocolate resume. Yes, a chocolate resume. 3/4 inch thick, 8 and half by 11 inches of pure luxury Belgium chocolate. (actually from the infamous Ambrosia Chocolate Factory - this was before everyone knew that Jeffrey Dahmer worked there.) And I sent that resume to the top guy in the direct marketing department of each of the top ad agencies in Chicago. I got 7 interviews with only 10 sent resumes. That’s an awesome ratio.
I sent other resumes to non Ad Agencies, but I really wanted to be in an Ad agency. And I really wanted to be at Leo Burnett.
I ended up getting 20 resumes that cost me $500 ( the mold cost the most, the chocolate was not that expensive.) But it was more than worth it. It was like a Willy Wonka golden ticket into their offices. But in 1989, we were in the midst of one of the worst recessions in America (apart from the one we are in now in 2011.) So advertising takes a huge back seat when that happens, very few spend money in advertising, and I did not know that. I just got out of college, so I didn’t need to know that. What I also didn’t know was that they were all laying off people at that time. I didn’t know any better. I actually had the marketing head of Foote Cone and Belding ( now called FCB ) in the company cafeteria talking to me, during his lunch break…..and not caring what other people were hearing, (a sign of huge authority) and saying ”I would hire you in a minute, but we don’t have the budget for it. I am sorry kid. Call me when the recession is over, and you’re in.”
J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy, Saatchi, you name it – I was in front of them. I even had 5 interviews with different people inside Leo Burnett. I could have pulled a monkey from my butt, but I was not hired. Apparently, I was the only potential new recruit they all had seen for months. Because we were in a recession. So I got the interviews, but big lesson to be learned, unless you can make them money, they can’t hire you and train you when they are in a recession. That’s the problem with advertising. So sales is what makes money, not “cute little ideas” when things are financially tight.
This was in July of 1989. It was very hot, and good chocolate melts at around 82′F, so I had to deliver the chocolate resume’s and not let them melt, that was especially difficult. I also made chocolate business cards, to give to each of the receptionists at each location. So that they too would remember me, and also have a “taste” without eating the main one…….and then they would also know how to reach me, in case the boss said, “get that chocolate kid in here for an interview.” it worked. I still have the molds. And after that Ambrosia chocolate factory started making chocolate business cards for their sales people. They thought it was a great idea. I could not believe that Ambrosia took so long to come up with such a simple idea. They sell chocolate, they should make marketing materials out of chocolate ! If you are an “ideas” person, then you will be good at Advertising.
Anyway…..that’s the story.
Oh, oh !!! wait….. I now remember why I thought of a chocolate resume !!!!!
because cell phones were all the rage at that time, and the little Motorola “MICRO TAC” the very first FLIP PHONE…. (ooooh and ahhhh) it just came out….. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_MicroTAC there’s a picture. And I thought that selling a chocolate cell phone would be a cute gift idea and I could make lots of summer money to help me afford my car (it was a Delorean, yes, I understand what you are thinking, don’t worry, I didn’t go back to the future..) And with that little idea, I was right, it would have been a great seller, but I could not get the rights to “copy” the image of motorola’s new cell phone, and I was not smart enough to make something similar but not the same. So because I had spent so much time thinking about chocolate, it hit me. A chocolate resume !!!!!! It also was a pretty great idea.
-W
Posted by in 01:05:34
