My goal was to create a resume that everyone would enjoy reading--even if you weren't hiring. It was originally built for Seth Godin's internship, but many friends have enjoyed it, and I wanted to continue sharing. "Send your application (you decide what's on it, that's part of the application) as a pdf of no longer than four pages..." - Seth Godin, Spring '08

1. Jeff’s guide to solving problems...
What’s your solution?

2. Experience life:
Go full-screen!
ClickHere!

3. Context. Dream.
Imagine solving a problem without understanding the
situation. It’s like eating a peanut-butter and jelly
sandwich without bread.
You understand the world is full of problems—that’s
why you’re not just looking for marketers, you’re look-
ing for world-changers. I live in the same world.
Some don’t mind mediocrity—I do.
That’s why I was the sole applicant to my two previous
internships—I asked world-changing bosses to create
internships for me.
World-changers are looking for other world-changers.
Jeff’s Nutrition Facts:
- Perfect verbal PSAT score at age 14 (two years early)
- Ran a marathon without training; hiked 50 miles in 24 hours
- Read a statistical book on winning monopoly at age 9
- Volunteered for five summers as a counselor at a ranch in North
Dakota; “Kind like a teddy-bear; serious like a grizzly”—a camper
- Attended college barefoot for a quarter
- Last internship: co-founded kaizen team whose ideas led to 12%
productivity increase and six production records
- Averages five hours each week mentoring guys one-on-one
- Still counts his childhood friends among his closest
- Regularly runs out of room in his cell-phone address book
You know what you want...
Do you have the ingredients for success?

4. Bite. Iterate.
Sometimes the same solution won’t work. Especially
when the average American eats 1,500 sandwiches by the
end of high school.
Solving problems can feel like a mosquito in a nudist col-
ony. You know what you want, just not where to begin.
You’ve made the sandwich—take a bite.
Selecting interns requires thought. And risk.
But what if I told you every person I know is brilliant in
some unique way. What if I told you that never attending
high school taught me the system isn’t the only successful
approach. What if I told you some of my marketing educa-
tion comes from stories I hear during weekly visits to a
nursing home. What if I told you that if you aren’t satisfied
with my performance, I’ll donate all the money to charity.
There. I told you. Your risk isn’t negligible, but it is minimal.
Context.
Dream.
Bite.
Iterate.
Who’s your next solution?

5. The InterviewWhat is your academic background
if you never attended high school?
You’re an Econ & Lean manufacturing guy—why
are you applying for a marketing internship?
Homeschooled until age 16, then junior college (graduated
with Honors). Currently a senior finishing a BA in Economics,
and a BS in Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management.
Because you will assemble exceptional people this sum-
mer. Because you support the Acumen Fund. Because
marketing is not just advertising. Because your action fig-
ure wears mis-matching socks. Because Ramit Sethi told
me you’re a great boss. Because you admit when you’re
wrong. Because marketing is everywhere.
Why write a playful eBook
about solving problems?
Where are you from?
How can I reach you?
15 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, 30 minutes from Canada.
jeff@jeffwidman.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
(401) 417-4327 http://www.jeffwidman.com/blog
I want my creative content to be “wall-able.” Something you
post on your fridge, e-mail your friend, and print for your son.
Content worth the world’s time.
Credits: My parents raised this crazy kid, my housemates (all eleven of them) generated creative ideas, and multiple friends suggested revisions.