Can Fredd land a job with this website?
Build a resume website, make it go viral and the job offers will come.
I received an email today from a Toronto job seeker who is putting that theory to the test. He just published a resume website called huntfredd.com. He’s trying to make it go viral with a very interesting twist that I’ve never seen before – a financial reward.
$10K reward for a job
HuntFredd.com is more than a resume website. It’s a contest to win up to a $10,000 reward if you get him the job. Now that’s something new.
Will it lead to job interviews and ultimately job offers? I’m not sure, but it just might work. Will it go viral? Hmmm…let’s just say that would be amazing.
Other Viral Job Search Campaigns
Fredd’s not the first guy to try to land a job via a website and a viral campaign.
How about the GooglePleaseHireMe.com guy, Matthew Epstein. He ran an expensive and controversial job search campaign starting with a website and a cheesy yet curiously entertaining video. He ended up with way more than a job. He proved himself to be a brilliant marketer and … I don’t want to spoil the end of the story. Let’s just say that he really knows how to get people to pay attention.
Then there was Alec Brownstein who landed a job through a Google Adwords experiment.
Will Fredd succeed in creating a viral campaign and landing a job with this resume website huntfredd.com?
Things I love about huntfredd.com
- Impressive intro video
- Attractive design – clean one page site with a fixed top menu that’s always visible as you scroll down
- The Q&A section is a great idea
- Love the way he’s tied in his LinkedIn and Twitter profiles.
Be clear about what job you are going for
Fredd’s job search campaign is a little more reserved than Matthew Epstein or Alec Brownstein. Which makes sense because he’s not looking for a job in marketing.
Or is he?
Maybe it’s just me, but that’s one issue I see with huntfredd.com. I’m not exactly sure what job he is targeting.
I forwarded Fredd’s application to our IT recruiters. Chances are that they will have trouble seeing where he fits in too.
One of the biggest job application mistakes I see is when people send out general applications with impressive resumes but no clear job objective. If the hiring manager can’t make snap judgment about your role, they will bounce away.
Tips for successful resume websites
- Give yourself a clear job role. Be specific about your specialties and what job category you fit into. Tell us exactly the kind of job you are looking for and the solution you offer. Something like – I’m a ________. I help ‘x’ do ‘y’ so they can ‘z’ – might work.
- Don’t expect your resume website to do all the work. Keep applying for jobs and make sure to mention your website in your job application email as well some of your most significant accomplishments.
- Get a business card that advertises your website. Moo.com is may favorite place to get good quality low cost business cards.
- Go to in person networking events – meetups, Hackathons – and make sure to bring a good elevator speech to use when you meet people
- Volunteer to be a mentor at Ladies Learning Code training sessions or other tech training events
- Answer online questions in the places where the people you want to meet hang out
- Comment on blogs and include a link to your website
How’s the viral resume website campaign going so far?
A few tweets about Fredd’s resume website campaign.
I’m rooting for Fredd.The viral part is nearly impossible, but that’s not important. I’d say that Fredd has a very good chance of finding a job with this campaign.
I asked Fredd to keep me posted on his success with his campaign. He replied:
It has been almost 10 days since I have exposed the campaign. So far the feedback has been very good but no solid offer yet. I guess it needs some time till I could land a position. I will update my twitter about the progress.”
To see more job search websites that I like, check out my Blog Portfolios board on Pinterest.
If you know of a resume website I should see, please let me know!