Perhaps today’s competitive job market has promped candidates to take more risks with their approach to the job search lately. That may explain some of the resumes flooding hiring managers’ inboxes these days, as indicated by a new CareerBuilder survey on unusual resumes.

The survey of 2,298 hiring managers nationwide shows that today’s job candidates are willing to say and do nearly anything to stand out from the competition – for better and for worse.

Creative?
When asked about the most impressive applications they received, respondents gave the following answers:

• Candidate sent his resume in the form of an oversized Rubik’s Cube, where you had to push the tiles around to align the resume.  He was hired.
• Candidate who had been a stay-at-home mom listed her skills as nursing, housekeeping, chef, teacher, bio-hazard cleanup, fight referee, taxi driver, secretary, tailor, personal shopping assistant and therapist.  She was hired.
• Candidate created a marketing brochure promoting herself as the best candidate and was hired.
• Candidate listed accomplishments and lessons learned from each position.  He gave examples of good customer service he provided as well as situations he wished he would have handled differently.  He was hired.
• Candidate applying for a food and beverage management position sent a resume in the form of a fine-dining menu and was hired.
• Candidate crafted his resume to look like Google search results for the “perfect candidate.”  Candidate ultimately wasn’t hired, but was considered.

…Or Cringeworthy?
Some job applicants’ attempt to be creative, however, can backfire. When asked to share the most memorable and unusual applications that came across their desk, hiring managers gave the following examples of candidates who clearly didn’t know their audiences:

• Candidate called himself a genius and invited the hiring manager to interview him at his apartment.
• Candidate’s cover letter talked about her family being in the mob.
• Candidate applying for a management job listed “gator hunting” as a skill.
• Candidate’s resume included phishing as a hobby.
• Candidate specified that her resume was set up to be sung to the tune of “The Brady Bunch.”
• Candidate highlighted the fact that he was “Homecoming Prom Prince” in 1984.
• Candidate claimed to be able to speak “Antartican” when applying for a job to work in Antarctica.
• Candidate’s resume had a photo of the applicant reclining in a hammock under the headline “Hi, I’m _____ and I’m looking for a job.”
• Candidate’s resume was decorated with pink rabbits.
• Candidate listed “to make dough” as the objective on the resume.
• Candidate applying for an accounting job said he was “deetail-oriented” and spelled the company’s name incorrectly.
• Candidate’s cover letter contained “LOL.”

Sound Familiar? What To Do When Irrelevant Resumes Become the Norm
The occasional oddball resume is almost inevitable; however, if you find yourself bombarded with more applications of the “homecoming prom prince” nature than you think is normal, it might be time to ask yourself, “Is it me?” and figure out the reason you’re not getting the candidates you need. You never know – the solution to your problem could be as simple as creating more effective job postings to attract the right candidates.

Received any memorable resumes of your own? Tell us about them in the comments section below!