Daring Resumes: Are They Worth the Risk?

							RESUME MAVEN                                                                                             www.lawcrossing.com     1. 800.973.1177
SPONSORED BY ATTORNEY RESUME




                            Daring Resumes: Are They Worth the Risk?
                            [By Mary Waldron]
                            As we look around at the 12-year-olds blabbing on their BlackBerry devices and jamming to thousands of songs on their
                            microscopic iPod shuffles, there is no debate as to whether our society has become overwhelmingly technologically savvy,
                            but is that necessarily something that should be reflected on our resumes? With many of today’s businesses looking for more
                            streamlined methods of function, some job applicants are convinced that sending a dry, standard resume and cover letter
                            is simply a thing of the past. While being a risk-taker can pay off in some cases, is it really worth it to take the chance of
                            forfeiting a job opportunity because you are too eager to showcase your amazing creativity and ingenuity?




Last October, Uzbekistan-born Yale student          the presentation, rather than lecturing and          6:00 a.m. to 7:5 p.m., handing out ,000
Aleksey Vayner learned his lesson on                advising on what it takes to be a success, he        resumes. After receiving 200 phone calls, 45
submitting multimedia resumes the hard              might have saved himself from the wolves.            interviews, and 20 job offers, Shankman took
way-and that is putting it mildly. In addition                                                           a position as Director of New Media for the
to having his 7-minute video resume,                Anique Gonzalez, a writer for resume                 New Jersey Devils hockey team. Shankman
originally intended for securities firm UBS,        services Legal Authority and Attorney                thinks his tactic worked well because
posted on YouTube and mocked by all on              Resume, advises, “If you do decide to use            employers were able to see and meet him
the Internet, Vayner did not get the job he         a nontraditional resume, you must keep in            before they even read his resume. “At
was applying for. In his motivational-esque         mind that although it may stand out to some          least they could see I was a nice nutcase,”
presentation, which he titled “Impossible           employers, demonstrating one’s innovation            he explained. He was also dressed in a
is Nothing,” Vayner claims that he is a             and creativity, other more conservative              business suit and overcoat that day. His
professional athlete and dancer, the CEO            employers may desire a traditional cover             personality and demeanor, combined with
of two companies, an investment adviser,            letter and resume and will discard it without        his professional manner and inventiveness,
and even a Chinese medicine healer. While           even looking at it. You need to understand           are probably the reasons he received such an
watching scenes of Vayner lifting 495-              that you are taking a risk by going against the      enthusiastic response.
pound weights, karate chopping a stack of           grain. While it may stand out in a good way,
bricks, hitting tennis balls at an alleged          it can also stand out in a bad way.”                 Job seekers need to make sure they are in
40 miles per hour, and ballroom dancing                                                                 tune with what will be a hit with employers
with a woman, one has to wonder if this             Although Vayner’s experience ended in                and what will turn them off. It should be a
guy is for real. In accordance with Vayner’s        horrific humiliation, some wacky concepts            rule of thumb to only send “risky” resumes
reputation at school for being an incorrigible      can be successful. Take, for example, the            to companies at which applicants have
storyteller, it has been proven that the            case of now 28-year-old Peter Shankman.              already established personal or professional
23-year-old is not a CEO or an investment           According to The Wall Street Journal,                connections or when applicants are very
adviser and that certain footage in his video       Shankman wanted a public realtions job in            aware of how employers will respond to
was faked, making the veracity of the rest          the New York City area, but he did not want          outlandish antics; otherwise, why risk it? If
of it questionable. The lesson here is that         to send out reams of resumes and cover               you’re trying to land a job that you genuinely
there is a fine line between creating an            letters. Using his keen instinct and publicity       want, it is better to be safe than it is to be
interesting and original presentation and           skills, Shankman had his resume printed on           sorry. Above all, use your best judgment
creating a ridiculous, over-the-top mess.           two four-foot by three-foot poster boards            when it comes to conveying who you are as a
Perhaps if Vayner had not lied and had              and sandwiched himself between them; he              person and the potential and skills you have
stuck to his career objectives throughout           then stood on a corner in Manhattan from             to offer as a professional.




PAGE