lol, well I guess I opened myself up to some criticism.
I probably should have qualified my post.
I make $100k+ a year and the cost of the iPad is irrelevant to me. (not bragging, just trying to put it into perspective).
In today's economy I felt it was prudent to distinguish myself from the million other resumes these companies receive every day.
Let me give you some of my background:
I'm presently on search committees for a couple of positions for where I work. Some are in the 100k+ range and others not so much. It's not what I normally do for a living, and I wouldn't say it's something I WANT to do... but it's necessary because I'll be working with whoever we hire. I'll be bringing them up to speed on how we do things here, and then afterwards they'll be collaborating me in some capacity. My boss - the CEO - knows this, and that's why any resumes not going through standard channels and going to HIM end up right on my desk, and the desks of my colleagues on those committees.
I have also spoken with, been interviewed for, and been offered positions by high-level execs in Fortune 100 companies. Then I turned them down when my incumbent employer made it worth my while to stay. I did, however, refer good people to those who were offering me positions, and they did take my advice in good confidence.
I can tell you right now, the iPad idea wouldn't fly in any of these cases.
For one thing... jobs tend to be filled by
search committee. Which means, everyone needs a copy. For these positions... assuming we even
accepted iPads, you'd need to send us about 5 or 6 of them. Doesn't matter if you're sending to an executive... there's still a group of people tasked with filling open positions. CEOs can often make really strong recommendations, but at the very least some formality has to be undertaken, often for legal and regulatory reasons. CEOs don't like getting sued because Ms. Smith who had probably better qualifications than you got turned down all because you sent a nice shiny iPad to the boss. That
never looks good in court.
So, you COULD just do what we tell everyone to do: send us PDFs of your resumes, or standardized version of any multimedia (audio, video, HTML5... no Flash, please), and we'll load that stuff onto the iPads, tablets, android devices, smartphones and netbooks/laptops we
already have, using the platforms of
our choosing.
If you're sending me something about why you should be hired, I want to be able to draw on it, write on the margins, annotate it, make comments, and pass all of that on to my colleagues. If you're sending an iPad with your stuff on it, then you've locked me out of being able to do that. I'll probably laugh at the irony of you using a jailbreak on the Ipad to specifically lock me out of doing anything with your content, and then send it back with a polite note attached pointing you to our application requirements and our HR website, where you can take the documents out of that iPad and upload them to our candidate tracking system.
Also worth noting, I'm sending the iPad to the CEO or Chairman (of their Board).
Tread carefully. Some corporations have ethics and compliance departments which specifically prohibit the acceptance of gifts in exchange for any form of
quid pro quo. Sending an iPad to an executive would most definitely be viewed as a rather substantial gift in exchange for their consideration in extending you employment.
And, before you point out that you have included a postage-paid mailing label to return in it: most places have an HR department, that likes to keep records of these things, even if you send them to the executive. So, if you're locking your resume into an iPad, you can bet it's either going to be sent back without the resume on it being viewed (and probably with that polite note I mentioned earlier), or it's not coming back at all.
So, it's not like I'm sending it to the "employee recruitment department"
Doesn't matter. Unless it's a very small company, HR has to get involved in one way or another.
And if it IS a small company, most entrepreneurs tend to prefer to get to know the people they hire face to face anyway. Sending an iPad will probably be seen for what it is: a flashy gimmick from a guy who wants to control every aspect of how you experience them, and cover up any shortcomings with a lot of flash and dazzle.
Oh yeah... what if the battery runs out while the iPad is en route? Are you going to send the charger and cable along too? Does that mean the CEO - who's probably a very busy guy - is gonna have to find an outlet to plug in your iPad and wait for the battery to charge before he can see what you're all about? That's gonna take away from the polished look you're going for, won't it?
I would recommend that you find some other way to stand out in the crowd. Usually, that's done by presenting a clear image of yourself... not being too flashy, clearly outlining your skills, and finding creative ways to work within the traditional mediums to show how UN-traditional you are (if that's what the company is looking for). Or, as my boss says, "thinking outside the box without crushing it."
If you're really that creative, you don't need to rely on this kind of gimmick to stand out. As someone who has seen quite a lot of things come across my desk now that I've been on these hiring groups, I'll say this: if you want people's attention, and are REALLY as good as you say you are, then you can do better than this.
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