Creative Job Search Succeeds By Targeting Self-Searchers

It’s not every job search effort that wins an award or gets picked up by the press. But in this instance it wasn’t by being flashy. Just focused.

Bucking the trend of outlandish portfolio packages and oversized mailers, one advertising creative stood out by keeping it simple.

Rebecca Cullers of AdWeek’s Ad Freak blog reports on the campaign of copywriter/director Alec Brownstein, whose job hunt succeeded by appealing to the vanity of creative directors.

Search smarter, not harder.

Brownstein didn’t just wait for a Help Wanted ad to show up. He created his own ads, focusing his search by buying Google keywords of the names of top New York creative directors: David Droga, Gerry Graf, Tony Granger, Ian Reichenthal and Scott Vitrone. When they Googled themselves, they got a message to hire Brownstein.

Four of the five invited him in for an interview. (Maybe Granger just doesn’t Google himself much?) Two offered him a job. As Cullers put it, “Another great example of knowing your audience.”

Total cost of Brownstein’s keyword campaign: $6. It paid off with a job at Y&R New York and a Clio award. Talk about ROI.

Of course, it also didn’t hurt to have a great reel either. Check out Brownstein’s independently produced spec spot for Doritos.

So, when was the last time you Googled yourself?