Do I Need to Get Creative with Job Applications?

July 5, 2011

Regardless of global economic conditions, these days everyone has to be creative and make themselves stand out in a crowd. Whether you’re a company that’s hiring or a candidate hoping for an interview, you need to differentiate and position yourself to beat out the competition. Keep in mind, though, that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You always have to keep your audience in mind as you create compelling reasons for someone to look more closely at you.

If you’re applying for a position at an informal, yet demanding expansion stage technology start-up that clearly loves energetic, outside-the-box thinkers, then perhaps these resumes can provide some inspiration. Some of these are just awesome. You see everything from a movie poster to a Facebook profile or even a Google search page, all representing the candidates’ finest credentials!

However, if you’re looking for job applications at a traditional, uber-corporate accounting firm whose employees don suits everyday en route to their Fortune 500 clients, you might want to rethink your strategy. The same philosophy applies to companies looking to acquire top talent. You know your culture and the type of profile it takes to succeed in your environment. So be clear about that in your job description and posting.

One of our portfolio companies here at OpenView Venture Partners does a phenomenal job at putting together exciting job descriptions. Take a look at Kareo‘s job postings and you’ll find titles such as Kick Ass Software Developer, Superstar Sales Support Analyst, or even Web Developer Ninja on their careers page. And everyone they hired has been doing incredibly well! Anyway, that’s enough rambling from me – have a nice weekend everyone!

Director of Recruiting

Victor Mahillon is the Director of Recruiting at <a href="http://kamcord.com">Kamcord</a>. Previously he was a Talent manager at OpenView.