Archive for May, 2010
“The Google Job Experiment”
May 27th
Hey Team,
This story was pretty big last week but I was so busy trying to get Résumé Padding off the ground I didn’t have much of a chance to write about it.
Here’s the deal: clearly I’m not the only one who has come to the realization that, between an economy that’s on suicide watch and an online job posting system that is better suited to hiring robots (literal robots…that wasn’t some figurative jab against people who don’t think for themselves), job hunting in 2010 is fundamentally broken.
How did this guy solve the problem? Did he spend months building a website around a twisted job competition concept thereby creating not only a means to an end but also a mirror into society and a marketing coup for some lucky winner? Did he spend further weeks of shooting and editing a weekly web series dedicated to padding his résumé, adding awareness and interactivity to his site and proving he can produce a top quality show on time and under budget?
No.
He spent $6 on a Google AdWords.
Here’s the clever part though: The dude bought ads, not for generic search terms, but for the names of Creative Directors in New York City. So, when these guys vanity searched themselves, lo and behold, here was a clever guy asking for a job. I’ve heard of people playing similar games with facebook ad buys so it’s not without some precedent but still…brilliant, right?!
There it is folks, stand out and make an impression. Let’s call that Life Lesson #11.
I’m done.
Brett.
Résumé Padding: Episode 1 [Teaser]
May 26th
FYI: I’m in the middle of playing with blip.tv settings to see if I want them to host Résumé Padding as I move forward so the player below may or may not work properly today. However, if you follow this link you should still be able to check out the teaser! Thanks for being here! 
Résumé Padding!
May 3rd
Hey Team,
Are you crazy kids ready for some Résumé Padding? Here’s the deal: In addition to this little GEitW contest that’s rolling out we’re going to start taking things a step further. You know what? That’s just lazy. Why take things a step further when you can take them THREE steps further?!
Good. That’s settled then. Let’s start over…
Are you crazy kids ready for some Résumé Padding? Here’s the deal: In addition to this little GEitW contest that’s rolling out we’re going to start taking things THREE HUGE STEPS FURTHER. I know what you’re thinking. 1) Who’s this “we” and 2) What are you babbling on about?
It seems I can’t in good conscience run a website that doesn’t provide a startling amount of entertainment relative to how many people are working on it* so, starting next week there will be a new weekly web series on this very site operating under the name…Résumé Padding!
Résumé Padding will be serving a dual purpose of 1) entertaining the masses (that’s you, friends!) and 2) proving once and for all that I am indeed…the Greatest Employee in the World! (Maybe.)
The concept is simple. Each episode will feature me taking on a different local job (Maybe a pizza parlor, a shoeshine stand, a zoo? Who knows?), going over what it takes to do the job well, a little look at training and ending with a grand competition between me and a regular employee for the title of “Greatest Employee in the WORLD!” Sounds fun, right?!
It’s kind of like the web’s answer to Dirty Jobs…but without the dirty…and no one nearly as cool as Mike Rowe…and less of a focus on obscure jobs…and not sponsored by Ford…and done with little to no budget…y’know what, it’s probably more like the web’s answer to Amtrekker.
Here’s where the “we” comes in. Since these episodes don’t have to be super timely I’d LOVE to shoot as many as I can, as quickly as possible and just spread out the editing. Which means, if you own your own business or know of a business that would love to be part of an episode shoot me and email at brett [at] GEitW [dot] com! I’m based in Fresno, CA so the closer to there the better but I am willing to do a little driving. (You know what? There are some pretty good airline deals out there right now…if you’ve got a cool idea for an episode hit me up regardless of your location!)
I’m super pumped about this, gang! Let’s make it happen!
I’m done.
Brett.
*Bear in mind there is exactly one person working on this site. 
