From visual resumes and web resumes to searching for the perfect template or hiring a resume writer — people will do whatever it takes for that universal document that could land them a job.
For one marketing professional, that meant building a “resume-bot.” The interactive bot guided prospective employers through an interview and could answer questions like, “What does success mean to you?”
What this means: Searching for a job is tough, but finding ways to make your resume stand out from the crowd is even more challenging. On average, 118 people apply for any single job — that is a lot of resumes for recruiters to review, and there are only so many ways to cram all your skills and experiences onto a resume. So, David Vidal decided to think outside the box, or rather, outside the single sheet of paper.
“The most important thing for me was demonstrating my marketing and communication skills and proving that I’m a creative person who thinks outside the box.”
David Vidal
“I don’t think a conventional resume works anymore,” Vidal told Business Insider. “The most important thing for me was demonstrating my marketing and communication skills and proving that I’m a creative person who thinks outside the box.”
How the resume-bot works: Vidal utilized a tool called Landbot, which is a non-AI dialogue generator. To create the chatbot, he uploaded the questions, answers, and his resume.
The interactive resume-bot allowed recruiters to interview Vidal’s proxy with a push of a button. Once they started the interview, pop-up messages answered questions and presented new prompts — a la the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Some of the questions programmed into the resume-bot included “What does success mean to you?” or “What’s your biggest professional achievement?”
The results: Vidal’s ultimate goal was landing a job. And, with 30,000 views, the odds were on his side.
“This has all gone beyond my wildest expectations,” Vidal told Insider. “My resume-bot has gone viral.”
The chatbot even asked recruiters, “How do we meet for an in-person interview?” to which they responded by emailing Vidal directly or completing a form the bot provided.
Vidal landed 14 interviews and received 11 job offers.
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