Best way to ship an iPad to a potential employer

[goMac]

And the portfolios were immediately relevant to the position being sought. They didn't buy expensive gilded frames in handsome hand-carved presentation boxes to display the photos. The medium was very literally the message. Just like the OP's example of his applicant sending out fully-realized letterhead/business cards.

Unless he's applying for an iPad developer position (in which case, the company would have iPads at the ready) then he's confusing sizzle for steak.

And unless he can single himself out in a way that's relevant to the position being sought I think it's a huge mistake. He's just going to be referred to as "that iPad guy" and not in any endearing way.

Exactly.

For any developer position I've interviewed for they ask what apps I have on the app store, and then I bring an iPad in on my person.

For my last interview, do you know how many times that iPad was actually turned on? 0. They were much more interested in me than what I had on my iPad. If they could find out what I knew from me, they certainly didn't need my iPad.

(I'd still bring my iPad to an interview for this sort of position, but the iPad is a supportive device, not the cornerstone of my interview.)

 

[poloponies]

All the people that say it's a gimmick or then what are you going to do don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. He's trying to get in for an interview where he can then display his skills and further distinguish himself as a candidate.

Please. Don't try to tell people what they do or don't understand. We all get it and it IS a gimmick. If he's including content on the iPad that can only be appreciated in some multi-media form then I'd say it's still ridiculous but it's less gimmicky. HOWEVER, if he's sending what's essentially a paper resume on an iPad, then it's poor judgment.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I suspect many of the posters around here hold down burger-flipping jobs and have no clue what you are trying to accomplish here. But if you work in digital media and can command a great salary, this is a pretty clever way to market your skills. Six-figure jobs demand six-figure strategies.

That said, I think you are looking at some issues.

1) Need to make absolutely sure you enclose some kind of disclaimer that this is not a gift and you expect it back. You give the appearance you are encroaching on a company's ethics guidance policies when you do things like this and you don't want to make a potential employer uncomfortable or you'll get the wrong kind of attention.

2) Second, I personally think this would work far better if you did not give them a self-addressed way to ship it back to you. Make it clear you expect to pick up the iPad after they've reviewed your resume/portfolio, even if their answer is a "not interested." You are selling yourself, you are willing to go THIS far, why not take it to the next level? I'm assuming you aren't sending out this iPad to blind job opportunities but rather are targeting your search to just a hand-picked few. If thats the case, you already have some brass here...why not go for the gold pair?

3) If you still want to do the ship to/ship back, spend a few extra bucks on some really nice packaging and maybe even pay for a professional courier to pick up the iPad instead of leaving it to them to drop it (ouch) into the FedEx box? Adds a little more professionalism. I'd also be more impressed if the iPad was encased in something creative. Like a big leather pouch or something that made it stand out in my daily mail.

Good luck, I applaud the approach but I think you've got a few more details to plan.

For the record, my current marketing VP was hired when she sent over a complete set of design specs for how she would re-brand my company, website, letterhead, logo and all. She even threw in some faux press releases and took one of my current ads and rebranded that too. That took her a LOT of work but when I opened it there was just her card with a handwritten letter attached that said basically "You could look so much better with me there." Totally blew me away. She's been fantastic in the role ever since.

ever heard of something called, trying a little too hard? #2 is ridiculous and people would laugh if something like this ever showed up in our office.

And why u ragging on everyone's job?

 

[NikeTalk]

**I'm looking to hire a few people






**Please have your resume on an iPad 2. Will only accept 32/64gb AT&T iPad 2's. No Verizon ones, thanks. Unlimited data sims preferred.

 

[JRoDDz]

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).

This is for a senior executive position in a fortune 500-type company.

In today's economy I felt it was prudent to distinguish myself from the million other resumes these companies receive every day.

Also worth noting, I'm sending the iPad to the CEO or Chairman (of their Board).

So, it's not like I'm sending it to the "employee recruitment department"

Thanks again for the feedback.

Don't you think a CEO of a company has better things to do with his time than play with an iPad some guy sent him in hopes of bribing his way into the company?

100k? elementary school teachers make that much. that's not impressive.

P.S. if you do decide to send the iPad, make sure to clear all the pron url's from Safari history

 

[TheWheelMan]

Lmao! Some of these posts cant be serious. Buy a dog on SD card and ship it.

You know, I believe this is the first time I've ever seen the word "doggone" misspelled.

 

[poloponies]

Don't you think a CEO of a company has better things to do with his time than play with an iPad some guy sent him in hopes of bribing his way into the company?

On the other hand, maybe we're all looking at this the wrong way. Having the iPad delivered by an attractive ********* may be just the right kind of attention-grabbing stunt that could lead to something.

 

[thibaulthalpern]

On the other hand, maybe we're all looking at this the wrong way. Having the iPad delivered by an attractive ********* may be just the right kind of attention-grabbing stunt that could lead to something.

Well, you never know but the CEO might actually prefer a call-boy instead depending on if s/he is a straight woman, gay man, or bisexual. Oh...the choices are endless!

 

[Dubzdenver]

Hello all,

I bought the iPad 2 for one purpose – so I could create a digital resume and portfolio of my professional work experience and send it to potential employers. I’m fortunate to be employed right now, but am looking to relocate for family reasons. I’d like to FedEx my iPad 2 to a potential employer in order to entice them to interview me, but wanted to create this post to see if anyone had any “good ideas” or “solutions” for how to send it?

Basically, I figured I’d simply send it as “a box in a box”

The outside box would have the potential employers address, and the inside box would be pre-labeled with paid postage and my address as the ship-to address. So basically, when they open the package, they’ll see an iPad in an opened box.

That way, they can ship the iPad back to me when done. (Hopefully they won’t need to ship it back to me because I’ll be interviewing with them )

Thoughts? Recommendations?

I’m O.K. with buying a “nicer solution” if anyone has any ideas?

Thanks.

Hello,

I am curious how this worked for you. I recently had the same idea, currently in the process of preparing the presentation. I also work in an industry where one needs to separate him/her self from the pack with creative, out of the box ideas. If you were to do this again, what would you do differently, if anything. Thank you. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[barkomatic]

Hello,

I am curious how this worked for you. I recently had the same idea, currently in the process of preparing the presentation. I also work in an industry where one needs to separate him/her self from the pack with creative, out of the box ideas. If you were to do this again, what would you do differently, if anything. Thank you. Any feedback appreciated.

So, you want to send a potential employer a whole iPad just to display your resume? It was a bad idea then (2011) and its a bad idea now in my opinion.

If you are preparing a presentation for some type of sales/service pitch--that's a different story entirely.