Story highlights
Web product developer created online CV to look like Amazon page
Resume went viral and Dubost gained over 100 offers of work
"I was so completely not expecting this," he says
Proves the importance of personal branding in job-hunting
A French job-seeker has “sold” himself with an online resume made to look like an Amazon page, proving that some creativity and attention to personal branding can go a long way.
Philippe Dubost began his trawl for a new job as a web product manager in late December.
Depressed by the thought of sending a regular resume into the ether as part of the usual job application process, he built his to look like an Amazon page, complete with product dimensions, five-star ratings, world-wide shipping and even a gift-wrap option.
“Amazon’s pages just naturally fit the form of a resume,” he said. “I just thought that if a company thinks that this is fun, then that’s a company I would like to work for.”
“At first I sent it out as a link with the normal job applications I was sending, but then sent an email to a popular French blog saying ‘Hey guys, if you’re bored and have nothing to look at…’”
That was the beginning of last week. From there its journey across blogs and social media has propelled it from around 500 hits a day to over 200,000, and the page has gained over 27,000 Facebook “likes”.
But more than just being a fleeting Internet sensation, Dubost’s Amazon resume has also done what it was designed for.
From the 800 or so messages he has received over 100 have been work-related with job offers coming from across Asia and Europe.
“Quite a few are great and are really fit what I’m looking for,” he said.
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery and Dubost admits that Amazon is one of the companies he greatly admires and would like to work for. However he remains tight-lipped about how the company has responded, or even if it have contacted him at all.
As well as being a smart piece of design, the creative resume also shows Dubost’s personality, something he believes has helped it reach its target audience.
“It made me realize how important personal branding is,” he says.