Remarkable Hiring Stories

1. Remarkable Hiring Stories –
Read the Last Idea…it’s awesome!!!
By Cindy Waxer | CNNMoney.com – Thu, Feb 23, 2012 5:44 PM EST
SUBMITTED BY TOM VILORD, PRESIDENT – VILORD WEALTH ADVISORS,
TURNERSVILLE, NJ
INFO@VILORDWEALTH.COM, 877-VILORD1
When it comes to hiring, these small business owners have remarkable stories about
employees going the creative distance to nail the jobs.
Marketing ninja at your service
Owner: Andy Butler
Company: D2M
Courtesy: Savannah PetersonWhen Silicon Valley design and marketing agency D2M Inc.
posted a job listing on Craigslist for a "marketing ninja," CEO Andy Butler was hoping for a few
creative candidates.
"When we put out a posting for a 'marketing ninja,' we wanted to attract people who'd identify
with that description, and we wanted to discourage people with a more traditional approach to
marketing and PR," said Butler.
So when Butler opened a job application from Savannah Peterson, he knew he'd found his new
marketing manager. "When I received a picture of a cropped head Photoshopped on top of a
black-pajama-ed ninja, the first thing I said was, 'I have to meet this person face-to-face,' "
recalled Butler.
After interviewing four of the position's 90 applicants, Butler hired Peterson based on a
combination of her marketing background, design skills and ability to "jump out" from a sea of
cookie-cutter candidates. But while a quirky resume replete with a ninja mock-up and a laundry
list of superpowers landed Peterson the job, she said her lighthearted approach was a serious act
of self-promotion in today's tough economy.
"Having been a university graduate in December of 2008 when everything fell apart, I knew it
was important to stand out and have a sense of humor," she said. "I also believe that it's a lot
harder to say no to a face and not just a resume."

2. This is what I do on my lunch break
Owner: Sara Sutton Fell
Company:FlexJobs Corp.
Illustrating how you like to spend your lunch hour isn't the most advisable way to apply for a job,
but it was enough to win over Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, a telecommuting job site out of
San Francisco.
An e-mail from job candidate Heather Maria Kubik told Fell to look at her video to see what she
does during her lunch break. The e-mail also included a resume, cover letter, and a link to a
home movie uploaded onto YouTube.
"It was a video of Heather and her husband doing a vertical wind tunnel performance," said Fell.
"It was unique, jaw-dropping, and totally ballsy. And I loved it. I hired her on the spot for our
video design project."
A sky-diving enthusiast, Kubik performs gravity-defying, upside-down spins and dance steps in
an indoor vertical wind tunnel in the two-minute Apple iMovie. "This training has taught me
persistence, patience, teamwork, and has proven true the old adage, 'If at first you don't succeed,
try, try again,' " continued the e-mail.
Although her video-editing techniques earned her a contract with FlexJobs, Kubik said
showcasing her off-beat skydiving skills is what truly paid off in the end. "When you're trying to
reach out to a potential employer, you've got to give them something twice to look at," she said.
Employers should apply to me
Owner: Mark Pickett
Company: Nail Your Mortgage
As owner of a 12-person online mortgage financing site in Chicago, Mark Pickett has to compete
with tech titans like Google and Oracle for skilled techies. "Talent is everywhere, you just have
to be able to get to it," he said.
So when an employee told Pickett about an online "reverse job application" posted by an out-of-
work college grad, he had to check it out. Instead of simply listing credentials, Andrew Horner's
reverse job application inverts the application process by stating his criteria for a potential
employer, requesting that recruiters submit an employer application form, and asking prospects
to answer questions such as, 'What job are you offering me?'
Horner said the idea for a "reverse job application" came to him after sending out countless
resumes to no avail. "I started thinking about what I could do to turn the situation around and the

3. first thing that came to mind was, instead of applying for a job, have companies apply to hire
me," he said.
After posting the reverse application form on Reddit, a social news site, it immediately went
viral. "I went to sleep and woke up the next day and my inbox was full of people who had
submitted applications using the form," said Horner.
In total, 250 completed applications came pouring in, 44 of which contained legitimate job
offers, including one from Pickett. Horner accepted but the reverse job application remains
online "for posterity's sake."
SUBMITTED BY TOM VILORD, PRESIDENT – VILORD WEALTH ADVISORS,
TURNERSVILLE, NJ
INFO@VILORDWEALTH.COM, 877-VILORD1
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