The Counter Argument About TwitterShouldHireMe.com
I recently wrote a blog article praising Jamie Varon's TwitterShouldHireMe.com project as being a great example of a candidate who does much more than just post a resume and wait for the phone to ring. Jamie's blog was proof, day after day, that she was extremely well qualified for the job that she was targeting and wasn't just trying to get hired in order to get a paycheck. Certainly getting a paycheck is important and just, but her blog was proof that her interest in working for start-up Twitter was much more than just getting a paycheck from Twitter.
Earlier today, Heather Huhman of Examiner.com posted an article in which she took the opposite side and criticized the approach. Unlike some writers, Heather takes care to think through her positions and explain them. She and I may disagree on whether Jamie's strategy is more helpful than harmful to Jamie's career prospects, but Heather makes some excellent points:
- Jamie's blogs about why she wants to Twitter pigeonholes herself. What if Twitter doesn't hire her? What if someday she leaves Twitter? Her blog will likely turn off other employers.
- Heather feels that Jamie comes off desperate rather than enthusiastic and passionate.
- The blog is stereotypical Generation Y in that it makes Jamie appear to have a sense of entitlement. Cover letters and resumes should be about the company, not the candidate.
- Some of her posts are unprofessional, such as, "Hello. Hey. Hi. How's it going? So, you want to know a little bit about me? Well, my name is Jamie Varon. I'm currently shackin' up with my parents right now, since I am unemployed."
- Heather feels that Jamie being controversial is therefore a risk too big for employers to swallow. I disagree. Twitter is a start-up. They understand risk. Traditional employers may shy away from candidates like Jamie but that's okay. Jamie isn't interested in working for them.
- Heather also felt that other candidates should not attempt to emulate Jamie because her idea is no longer original. News flash: I wrote about Carolynn Duncan of Provo, Utah employing (pun intended) a similar strategy almost two years ago. The strategy is unusual but not unique.
Is Jamie doing everything the best possible way? Of course not. No one ever does. But has she succeeded in creating a powerful personal brand for herself? Yes. Has she taken a huge step toward her goal of working for Twitter by landing a coveted interview with them? Yes. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out. Will Twitter hire her? If so, what work will she do and for how long will she remain in their employ? When she inevitably leaves Twitter and tries to find work with another organization, will her very public desire to work for Twitter do her more harm than good?
Jamie's campaign to get a job at Twitter is bold and seems like a good way to come to the attention of the Twitter-powers-that-be, and showcases some of her abilities nicely. I even re-tweeted on her behalf. Then I read her guest post--"Why It's Smart to Quit a Job After Two Weeks"--on Penelope Trunk's blog and felt decidedly less enthusiastic about helping her, even if only by re-tweeting or commenting. The "sense of entitlement" really comes through in that post, no matter what the actual circumstances were when she left her job. Good for Penelope, though--there have been 241 comments on that post to date. Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/d9wh83.
Last Monday I was let go from my position as Vice President of Sales and Business Development at a publicly traded company. Tuesday I woke up and decided that I would put the wheels into motion to follow my heart instead of my wallet while looking for my next position.
I’d been part of soul crushing companies long enough and I’d had it. I want to be a part of the web 2.0 social marketing community and began to seek sales roles at companies that fit this description. I also decided to put my entrepreneurial vision into motion. Where better to start my journey than the kings of social - Facebook.com? I love Facebook and noticed that they are in fact hiring. I applied for a Sales Director role.
I’m enthralled by Social Marketing and began to test my knowledge and see if I could leverage the medium to help my personal brand. I dove headfirst into Twitter and began scanning for like minded individuals. I came upon @jamievaron and her site www.twittershouldhireme.com.
I was amazed by her ingenuity. I immediately decided that I would start a “copy cat” site called www.facebookshouldhireme.com. It took me an afternoon to purchase the URL and implement via Godaddy.com. I was thrilled. I shared the link with my friends and family via Facebook.com (where else).
A day later Facebook.com respectfully declined my application.
Ouch.
Well, not so fast. Personally,I think the whole experience was phenomenal, I also think Jamie is fantastic.