This morning I came across The Reverse Job Application by Andrew Horner. Frustrated by an unsuccessful two year job hunt after graduating from college, he created a website that highlights his skills and why he decided to approach job hunting in this way.
This is a reverse job application. I am done asking people to hire me, for several reasons. First and foremost, it clearly doesn’t work. Second, it closes me off to a lot of potentially amazing opportunities; I can only find and apply to so many jobs, and there are doubtlessly hundreds of thousands out there that I would be a great fit for. Third and finally, the application process undermines my value as a worker. I have gone my entire life consistently producing excellent results at every task I set my mind to, and quite frankly, employers should be coming to me, not the other way around.
What I like is that he is drawing attention to himself, in an easy, clear, and funny way. I also like that he is stating what he is looking for in a company and opening himself to different opportunities. Finding the right *fit* for any job is important to both the employer and employee and by laying out expectations and interests, that aspect of the hiring process may be easier for him.
Additionally, I think we take a similar approach, albeit in more subtle ways, when utilize social media for career advancement purposes. We try to make ourselves stand out, push content that showcases our skills, and develop relationships that could eventually be beneficial.
At the same, this makes me wonder, aside from tone–is what he doing really that unique? Who isn’t online talking about how awesome they are and looking for offers (check out the hire me tab above)? And as an employer I would have to wonder: Why haven’t you been hired? Surely it just cant be because you didn’t have a website up, yes? Calling attention to numerous rejections is, in my opinion, a bad move (especially when, unfortunately, employers have he upper hand in this economy).
And whatever happened to creating a job? Of course entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, yet something must be said for refining your skills by doing side projects where you can showcase and refine your talent and are more compelling than a website telling folks to hire you. Indeed, saying you should be hired is very different from demonstrating why you should be hired.
Hopefully he’ll update the website and let us know of his progress and experiences.
So what do you think? Should you get employers to come to you?
Wow. Clever, but his website is just awful. Boring. Bland.
So. Much. Text!
Plus, it just seems like he has such an attitude that I wouldn’t want to work with. But I think I’d have to read the whole thing before I really have an opinion.
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I completely agree with Elizabeth. Creative idea, but WAY too much text. If recruiters spend about 20 seconds looking at any given resume, they are not going to spend the time necessary to read all about this guy’s life story. It comes off as self-centered and arrogant at first blush. It’s all about him when it should be about the employer.
I love the idea of a professional website, but I would recommend shifting the focus on his talents and accomplishments. Using an electronic portfolio is a great way to show the quality of work you have done the past, and in my humble opinion, be more of a value proposition than the “reverse application” approach.
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I like the idea, and I like his writing! I shared some of the same doubts/opinions are the previous two commenters, but then I read the update and the faq section, and he addressed most of them. I wish him the best of luck with his new job!
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I agree with the other commentators. In this growing market, it is great to be different in the approach to job searching, but I feel that his verbosity may possibly be his downfall if it isn’t revised just a little bit. I am feeling the same way he is though… I am going through the same woes and joes of being unemployed and if I thought this was the way to go when combating the hardships, I would have done it too…!
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