Totally Desperate Job-Hunting Attempts That Actually Worked

In total, 13.1 million Americans are out of work—more people than live in Beijing or Sao Paolo. The city proper populations of New York and Los Angeles combined do not equal the unemployed population in America.  Over four million of those job seekers have been unemployed for more than a year, and some are resorting to some pretty bizarre tactics in order to attract employers’ attention. Here are some wild job-hunting stunts that actually landed a job:

Tempting Fortune: Samantha Goldberg now works in television, but several years ago, she was trying to get a sales job at a Chicago boutique. She included a fortune cookie with her resume and cover letter. The fortune said: “If you hire me today, I promise good fortune with your sales.”   The owner gave her the job but unfortunately the business closed down a year later. Goldberg says she still uses the fortune cookie stunt to add flare to proposals at her current job.

Help a Guy Out: Peter Shankman, who now runs HARO.com, a successful web service for journalists (HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out), was so desperate for work back in 1997 that he spent 12 hours on a cold New York City street corner wearing a sandwich board with his resume on it.  He handed out 1000 resumes, got 479 calls, 78 interviews and 37 offers.  The long, cold day landed him a job with the New Jersey Devils working on web policies.

Highway Bribery:  Javier Pujals walked around Chicago wearing a sign that said: “Will Buy Interview.” He also created a site called Buyaninterview.com. According to forbes.com, Pujals' sign got him exposure from local media, and within a month, he had four job offers without actually ever paying for an interview.

Will Pay for a Lead: CNN Money reported on Jacob Share, 33, who sent his resume out to friends and family and asked them to send it out to their contacts. Share offered a $150 reward to whoever led him to a Web development manager position. He quickly got a job from one e-mail forward from a friend.

Google It: Alec Brownstein got hired after buying a Google ad targeting five creative directors who worked at his top-choice firms.  He paid 15 cents an ad to move his ad up to the top of the list when the executives googled their own names. When Ian Reichenthal of Young & Rubicam saw the ad, he called Brownstein for an interview and later hired him. 

Bright Lights, Big Job: Last December, Liz Hickok strung holiday lights on her house in Alpharetta, Georgia that read: "My wish, HR job, Liz Hickok, Linked In." According to CBSAtlanta, Hickock has gotten attention from employers as far away as Italy, but she is sifting through LinkedIn views and offers to find the right opportunity in Atlanta.

• Category Career AdviceFirst ImpressionGimmicksResume Advice