CareerBuilder Survey Finds Unusual Approaches To Getting A Job

BOSTON (CBS) -- Desperation can make people do crazy things--and a recent CareerBuilder survey found some of the bizarre lengths those desperate for a job will go to in order to get hired.

CareerBuilder's Michael Erwin told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens that his company surveyed more than 2,300 hiring managers, who told them of job candidates' unusual approaches.

"A candidate sent a shoe with a flower in it as a thank you for the interview," Erwin said. "The note said, 'Trying to get my foot in the door.'"

Erwin says one candidate bought a first-class airplane ticket in order to sit next to a hiring manager on an overseas flight. Another even kissed a hiring manager.

"During the month of October, another candidate dressed in a Halloween costume," Erwin said. "While I give him an A for effort, I'm pretty sure that that's awkward, to sit across from somebody else in a costume."

One candidate looking for a little divine intervention even had their priest call the hiring manager.

The site didn't say if any of these strange approaches actually worked--but they did say that the right ways to stand out to potential employers were to give examples of your past experience, use social media to your advantage, ask questions, use facts and figures, and send a thank-you note.

You can read the results of the survey here.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

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