Three innovative ways workers used to get their resumes noticed this year

It’s no secret that landing a job today is no easy task.

With job vacancy rates continuing to drop across Canada, competition has intensified. Adding to the challenge, many companies are now using artificial intelligence tools to scan resumes, often without applicants realizing it. A staggering 97 per cent of Fortune 500 companies use AI for hiring.

So, if you feel like your resume might just be tossed into a virtual black hole — maybe it has been.

These factors have led to job seekers taking more creative approaches to getting their resume in front of potential employers this year. Here are three from around the world that we find particularly interesting:

1. Send a pizza: The chief executive officer of software company Antimetal said one candidate was “100-per-cent getting an interview” after sending his resume along with a pizza. He also included a handwritten note with a URL to his website and took initiative to fix some links in the company’s documents.
2. Make a (really good) video: After being let go from LinkedIn, one job seeker landed a job at Google with nearly double the salary with this tactic: instead of a traditional resume, she crafted a video resume and included pre-recorded references, which she says played a crucial role in securing the job at Google’s Dublin office. The application also included documents outlining her weaknesses and strategies to overcome them. It wasn’t easy though; her video resume took more than 10 hours to make.
3. Become a walking billboard: A 21-year-old recent graduate from Wuhan University in China was struggling to secure an internship so he drew inspiration from elderly locals in his hometown that would often walk about with advertising signs. He printed his resume on a T-shirt to attract potential employers, complete with a QR code for easy contact. After going viral on social media, he secured an internship in the running apparel industry.

While these ideas can be inspiring, there’s no doubt that getting noticed still takes a lot of luck, and in some cases a pizza budget.

However, when it comes to AI and its potentially negative impact on those looking for work, we’re already seeing changes with new laws like this one in New York City that governs the use of AI in the hiring process.

There is still more progress to see, while some job seekers are able to opt out of having their resume “scanned by a machine,” employment lawyers say it still doesn’t ensure a human will see it.