A fresh graduate in China came up with the most creative idea to get noticed by HR professionals and managers.
Finding a job has become quite a difficult task in today's time. So, a fresh graduate from China came up with the most creative yet hilarious idea to get noticed by HR professionals and employers. He made himself a walking advertisement by printing his resume on a T-shirt. He eventually not only landed an internship but also grabbed a lot of attention online, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Song Jiale, a 21-year-old, recently completed his bachelor's degree from Wuhan University's School of Geomatics in Hubei province in central China. Before going for his post-graduation, he wanted to do an internship. He applied to numerous places but didn't find any offer. That's when he took inspiration from elderly locals in his hometown in Henan province, who often walk around with advertising signs. Jiale thought of getting his resume printed on a T-shirt.
He wrote on China's social media platform, Xiaohongshu, "With so many people on the streets, I am like a walking billboard, bound to be noticed by employers and HR professionals." The front of the T-shirt read, "Class of 2024 looking for work. Please see the back." And on the backside, he had a copy of his resume. It included everything from his name, university, degree subject, student activities, and internships. What was even more interesting was that he put a QR code over his picture so anyone could easily contact him.
Job-hunting China graduate turns into walking advert in bid to land work
— Bien Perez (@BienPerez) July 14, 2024
Unemployment rate for young people in China aged 16 to 24 soars above 18 per cent https://t.co/RneVpAO1Sy pic.twitter.com/9EHzwFUgGp
That's not all. Next to the QR code, he wrote, "HR people who are impressed, and any fellow graduates looking to network, just scan this!” He also got a message printed on the T-shirt, "Finding a job is as hard as finding a partner, let's help each other out." To ensure his resume reached the right people, he wore the T-shirt while traveling from his hometown to Hubei province. Though it didn't land him a job immediately, it caught the attention of fellow passengers and one of them posted Jiale's photo online.
People applauded him for his idea and suggested he do social media marketing. SCMP quoted one person commenting, "You should work in the social media field." Another one wrote, "I wish he could join our company. Don't you see how good he is at creating viral content? He is a real talent," as per the report. Because of his social media fame, many companies reached out to him. Song shared on Xiaohongshu, "As soon as I got to the company for my job interview, a staff member raised her phone and asked, 'Is this you?'"
In another story, a man named Ohm Patel–who goes by @ohmpatel90 on TikTok–shared that he had applied for more than 1400 jobs through LinkedIn and other recruiting sites but still didn't find a job. He said, "When I tell people this number, they genuinely cannot believe it." He added that most people recommend books or tactics to land a job. Patel expressed that he felt frustrated when people recommended these things because, according to him, he had tried all the tactics.
He said, "It took me six months to get my last job and that was around 700 applications." And that happened because his recruiter and he went to the same school. He concluded the video by saying that he had been unemployed for the last six months and looking for a job for eight months. Some people questioned him in the comments about whether he was looking for a CEO job. He answered that question in a follow-up video. He clarified that he was not applying for any role with the word senior and didn't want a job that had managerial responsibilities. He also shared his resume online to prove he was qualified and a hard-working person.