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More job seekers resort to unusual tactics

  • Story Highlights
  • Hiring managers report increase in unusual tactics by job seekers
  • CareerBuilder adviser: Job search more competitive than in previous years
  • Candidate sends shoe with a resume to "get my foot in the door"
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(CNN) -- With the economy in the tank, unemployment at its highest in 25 years and more than five candidates for each job opening in the United States, job seekers are resorting to some unconventional methods to stand out, a new survey says.

Robin Stearns created a Web site to draw employers' attention to her jobless husband, Michael.

Robin Stearns created a Web site to draw employers' attention to her jobless husband, Michael.

One candidate sent a hiring manager a shoe with a resume to "get my foot in the door."

Another wrapped his resume as a present and said his skills were a "gift to the company."

A third handed out resumes at stop lights.

Almost a fifth of hiring managers report seeing more unusual tactics this year, compared with 12 percent who said so last year, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.

CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com.

Some 601,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ending June 6, the Labor Department reported. That number of new claims was lower than expected and was down 24,000 from the previous week. At the end of May, continuing jobless claims reached 6,816,000.

The online survey quizzed about 2,500 hiring managers and human resources professionals.

"The search for employment is taking longer and is more competitive than it has been in past years," Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder, said in a statement.

But, he added, "While unusual job search antics may attract the attention of hiring managers, they need to be done with care and professionalism so that candidates are remembered for the right reasons."

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Among the candidates taking a creative route was Eric Jacobsen, a twice-laid-off IT professional in Austin, Texas. He rented a billboard featuring his photo and the words "Hire Me." Video Watch his :30 pitch on CNN »

And in San Francisco, California, Robin Stearns created a Web site for her unemployed spouse: myhusbandneedsajob.com.

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