Hasta La Creative!

It's not so strange for folks to bring cookies, cakes and candies to work and share them with colleagues. But for job applicants to prepare treats and serve them to prospective employers before even landing an interview? Not exactly business as usual.

Still, that's how Crystal Nunn applied for a junior designer position at We Are Social in London last August.

Nunn, an avid baker, prepared a batch of cookies using ingredients from Beyond Dark chocolate, a brand cofounded by We Are Social creative director James Nester. She designed a special box for the goodies labeled "Beyond Ideas," attached a thumb-drive containing her traditional résumé and portfolio, and hand-delivered the package in a brown wrapper marked "Urgent." Within an hour, We Are Social contacted Nunn for an interview; she got the job—and Beyond Dark, suitably impressed, sent her some chocolates and consulting work.

"The great thing about cookies is that they're perishable, so people are going to have to deal with it, even if it's just to throw them away," Nunn tells AdFreak. "Plus, who doesn't like cookies?"

Elaborate résumés and job applications are all the rage. Along with Nunn's cookies, notable examples include a detailed, Lego-esque model sent by a prospective account-service intern to ad agencies, and an impressive series of Grand Budapest Hotel trailers created by media artist Youyou Yang to demonstrate her filmmaking skills to Wes Anderson.

"If there's a place you really want to work for, show them why," Nunn says. "Build a rapport with them by having a voice—comment and share what they put on their blog and social media channels. Go above and beyond. Find out who your future bosses will be and tailor you job application to them.

"I've done the sending digital CVs online, 100 a day in some cases, and it's really not effective when you're competing against hundreds of other applications. You need to blow the rest out of the water and do something different. Think outside the box."

And if you do think inside the box, don't forget the cookies!

@doodlefool Thanks so much for your wonderful box of @BeyondDarkDrops cookies. You will have to come in and meet us! pic.twitter.com/SKaFcd3GUv— Graham Jenks (@TheButchersDog) August 12, 2013

@TheButchersDog @BeyondDarkDrops Hi Graham, I'm so glad you like it, I would absolutely love to come in and meet you!— Crystal Nunn (@doodlefool) August 12, 2013

@TheButchersDog @doodlefool They look amazing & beautifully presented! Does this mean we've played a part in a new professional relationship— Beyond Dark Drops (@BeyondDarkDrops) August 12, 2013

Via Design Taxi.

Many older marketing pros may feel millennials have a lot to learn. But this week served up an important reminder for all of us: If you can't think of anything nice to say, don't send that email. 

Kelly Blazek, head of the Cleveland Job Bank, has deleted most of her digital presence and issued a lengthy apology after sending at least three scathing rants to applicants who had asked for her help.

"Apparently you have heard that I produce a Job Bank, and decided it would be stunningly helpful for your career prospects if I shared my 960+ LinkedIn connections with you—a total stranger who has nothing to offer me," Blazek wrote to John Carroll University graduate Diana Mekota. "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky.

"Love the sense of entitlement in your generation. And therefore I enjoy denying your invite. … You're welcome for your humility lesson for the year. Don't ever reach out to senior practitioners again and assume their carefully curated list of connections is available to you, just because you want to build your network."

The last line? "Don't ever write me again."

When Mekota decided to post the email publicly, asking people to "please help call this lady out," the once-private message exploded Tuesday across social media, especially in the close-knit Cleveland business community.

Two similar notes from Blazek have surfaced (you can read all three below), featuring such warm wishes as, "You have not earned the right to ask me to connect on LinkedIn" and "Done with this conversation, and you."

As these messages swirled together into the perfect storm of backlash Tuesday, Blazek deleted her Twitter account (which is now back with just four followers and her picture removed), her blog and most of her LinkedIn profile. Blazek also issued an apology to local media outlets, saying in part: "The note I sent to Diana was rude, unwelcoming, unprofessional and wrong. I am reaching out to her to apologize. Diana and her generation are the future of this city. I wish her all the best in landing a job in this great town."

(Source: Imgur)

(Source: Imgur)

(Source: CleveScene.com)