This document discusses ideas for how candidates without references or experience can demonstrate their value to potential employers. The most practical idea is to structure volunteer work as real work experience by having non-profits issue experience certificates and recommendations. The most disruptive idea is for students to create 1-minute "Why You Should Hire Me" videos to showcase their skills and creativity. The author's favorite idea is to start a program where students gain teaching experience in remote areas similar to the Peace Corps model.

1. H O W D O E S A C A N D I D A T E W I T H O U T
R E F E R E N C E S A N D E X P E R I E N C E
D E M O N S T R A T E T O A P O T E N T I A L E M P L O Y E R
H O W V A L U A B L E T H E Y C A N B E ?
IDEATE ASSIGNMENT

2. Most obvious
 Assessment centers
 Case study competitions
 Candidates to write newspaper articles on topic related to the company
 Psychometric Testing - Behavioral profiling
 Psychometric Testing - Personality profiling
 Co-op
 Email recruiters with key skills highlighted in color.
 Students to work on industrial projects as part of their university
curriculum
 University resume book sent to recruiters
 Resume drop-offs at Job Fairs
 In-person discussions at Job Fairs
 Students engage in volunteer work and use it as experience on the resume
 Students carry a visual portfolio of their projects with them at Job Fairs

3. Modified Solutions
 1-min videos on "Why you should hire me?" sent to recruiters
 Competition videos put online to be available to all recruiters
 Company online resume templates modified to include alternatives
for experience
 An inventors' program at the university aimed at problems
companies face
 Students self-initiate projects to solve a recruiting company's
problems
 Students work in teams to solve a recruiting company's problems
 Teach students to develop colorful/visual info-graphic of their
resumes
 Universities to hold product/service design competitions in
collaboration with recruiting companies
 Students make their hobbies sound like work to demonstrate
experience.

4. Ridiculous Solutions
 Student goes outside company campus to introduce
herself on a megaphone
 Students don T-shirts that list their skills at Job
Fairs
 Send flowers to recruiters with a list of skills
 Send a small gift (e.g. free minutes on the phone) to
reciters who respond to email
 Draw a comic strip that depicts their skills
 Spy on hiring manager and join the gym where they
work out

5. 5-year old Child's Solutions
 Make a big placard with a list of things you are good at
 Write a letter to the hiring manager with stars (or hearts
if its a lady)
 Write your story and send it
 Write a pictorial story-of-self and send it to the recruiter
 Go to the recruiters office and challenge them to a work-
race against you
 Make a paper model of an office and color the places
where you can work
 Send a candy box to the employer with your skills (on
paper) wrapped around each candy

6. No budget limit
 Give money to students to start their own companies
 Simulate a real-life work environment that allows recruiters to
observe students from behind cameras
 Pay students' salaries so they can work for companies for free for a
while
 Hire a professional assessment agency to analyze the students
 Employ students in university run projects so they can get some
experience
 Invite recruiters as career advisors for university students
 Fly students overseas to help communities in foreign countries with
problems
 Get students to help poor communities in the area with problems.
 Start a Peace Corps equivalent organization in this region.

7. Control over laws of nature
 Access candidates brain data to analyze their potential at the
company
 Recruiters read the candidates thoughts as they answer questions
 Recruiters are able to visually color code candidates based on how
well the interact in their mind
 Recruiters can converse with a 100 candidates all at the same time
and pay attention
 Recruiters can assess students in 5 seconds
 Time-travel: All candidates are hired and recruiters identify the best
ones. They travel back in time to "not hire" the poor performing
ones
 The recruiter can become a fly on the wall.
 The student is able to grow crops, tend to cattle and build houses all
in a day.

8. IDEA SELECTION

9. Most Practical Idea
Structuring volunteer work as work experience
The University and/or a non-profit organization would
invite students to participate in volunteer work
activities.
1. The organization would structure the work as it
would be done by an employee of the non-profit.
2. They would also issue an experience certificate for
the students at the end of it.
3. Finally, students who excel at their work would get
recommendations from the staff they worked with.

10. Most Disruptive Idea
“Why You Should Hire Me…” 1-minute Videos
Students would produce a commercial about
themselves. This creative no-budget video would be
limited to 59 seconds. The collection of videos would
be sent to recruiters along with resumes.
1. The recruiters would be able to assess analytical
skills and creativity
2. The students would get exposure to recruiters

11. My Favorite Idea
Start an “Peace Corps” Equivalent
Students would be hired as teachers and school
administrators to work in remote corners of the
country. They will get a low salary for a 1-2 year stint
while they gain experience.
Recruiters will be encouraged to sponsor this project.
They will then consider the students’ teaching/admin
experience for job openings.