A freshly-printed document of one’s career and educational experience on crisp, pristine paper is the standard for applying to jobs everywhere.
But Brennan Gleason, who recently graduated with a graphic design degree from the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, wanted to stand out from the applicant crowd.
According to a June 30 PSFK.com article, Gleason designed the packaging for a four-pack — packaging that creatively contained the contents of his resume.
Each bottle in the four-pack is labeled with a different portion of Gleason’s resume, including examples from his design portfolio, along with a QR code that employers can scan with their smartphones to access his full resume.
“One of the best parts of getting involved into graphic design and related areas of expertise is that you get lots of opportunities to express your creativity,” says Mike Arsenault, Chair of Design at DMAC. “I think Brennan Gleason came up with a very innovative way to display his creativity, as well as grab attention for potential employers.”
For non-creative job fields like business or finance, Gleason’s tactics might have been a major gamble. But after sending out four packs of his drinkable resume to three different design firms in Vancouver, Gleason landed a job at Techtone, a digital brand marketing agency, according to PSFK.com.
“At the end of our program, everyone is obviously looking for jobs in the industry. So, I used that to my advantage,” Gleason told the Huffington Post. “I sent about three of them out to places I knew I really wanted to get a job at, and ended up getting a few offers right away.”
Showcasing one’s creative impulses in a job application is vital when the graphic design industry is so competitive, Gleason continued.
“As designers, we’re always trying to show off our creativity,” Gleason said. “That’s the first impression these companies see.”