Searching for jobs online can be a tedious and unrewarding exercise. Sending your resume to nameless HR addresses (or worse, filling out pre-set fields) makes you wonder how you can stand out from the crowd. Here are three people who decided to abandon traditional job application avenues to pursue their dream jobs. So far it has only paid off for one of them, but the other two stories are still evolving and we’ll be sure to check in on them over the next few weeks. 

1. Eric Romer (www.hiremeheadblade.com)

In 2009 Eric Romer’s favourite company, Headblade (the makers of a unique razor for head-shaving) tweeted that they were looking for a Social Media Marketing Manager and he decided that he had to have the job. He had been using the product for years and was already introducing everyone that he could to the company. On the same day that he read the tweet he created HireMeHeadblade.com, a Facebook page and Twitter account dedicated to his campaign. Within 8 hours of his site launch he received a call from Headblade and had his first phone interview 24 hours later. One week after that, he landed the job! He is still with the company, and presumably very happy.

2. James Meeks (www.hiremeaccenture.com)

After getting his MBA in the Summer of 2011, James Meeks set about getting a job with Accenture, a Marketing Consultancy firm. When traditional avenues proved fruitless he launched HireMeAccenture.com, a website hosting his resume and job search blog, as well as a Facebook page and Twitter account. While he is still pursuing the job with Accenture, according to his blog he has been contacted by Accenture recruiters as well as some other companies so his site could still be a success.

3. Matthew Epstein (www.googlepleasehire.me)

Perhaps the most ambitious of these three is Matthew Epstein, who launched his googlepleasehire.me campaign on August 1 and has been using his personal Twitter account to update his followers on his progress. His website contains a video resume as well as professional recommendations and his resume. On August 2 he shipped a six foot cardboard cutout of himself advertising the website to Google’s offices and actually heard from Google later that day. He says that he had even more outrageous PR plans but has decided to shelve them after acheiving his goal of speaking with Google. As of August 7, Epstein has scheduled a phone interview with Google and has also spoken with Microsoft, Amazon and other prominent start-ups as well as receiving many firm job offers (including one the day his site went live). It remains to be seen whether or not Epstein will land his dream job but he has already created enormous buzz around his job search. You can follow Epstein’s progress on his personal blog.  

While these three candidates went to extreme measures, each has highlighted the importance of putting serious thought into your job search strategy to find a way to stand out to hiring managers. Take a look at your resume and find ways to improve it. Choose a few companies that you would like to work for and come up with a plan to specifically target those organizations. Take the time to focus your efforts and you will hopefully the response that these three candidates have.