This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shari Williams, a 41-year-old social media strategist based in Chicago. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
In 2017, my four-month contract at an advertising agency was wrapping up with no word of a job offer or extension. I thought to myself, “I have to do something crazy to catch their attention.”
My husband and friends were skeptical when I told them of my plan to create a dating-app style website to pitch myself as “the perfect match” for the company, but something told me it was going to work.
A few weeks later, I posted my website on LinkedIn and even passed out custom candy hearts with the URL to my coworkers. My post gained traction, even catching the attention of the company’s creative director, and I was extended a full-time offer.
I learned it’s always worth a shot to be bold.
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I used my web development background to create the website
I had been working as a web developer for several years when I ended up pregnant and realized it wasn’t the career path for me. I transitioned into social media and later went the freelance route, landing the four-month contract job at Burrell Communications to help with a campaign.
The office location was convenient, the people were cool, and the work was fun. I really liked working there and didn’t want it to end.
I figured if I created my own website as a way to pitch myself to the company, it could be easily shared online to garner attention and get noticed by the company. My original inspiration was Nina Mulfeh, who was actually featured in Business Insider, for creating a website to land a job at AirBnB. Since I was working in advertising, I wanted to do something creative and attention-grabbing, so I decided to make mine have a dating-app look and feel.
Here’s everything I put on my ‘dating app’ website
It probably took a few weeks to build ShariLovesBurrell.com, but most of that time was spent gathering information and planning out how I wanted it to look. The site had a pink background with hearts — it was one of those sites where content floats as you scroll.
I created a dating “profile” for Burrell and one for me, and wrote things like “I’ve never felt this way about a company before” and “I think we have something special.”
Shari Williams
Then I added a few sections including a portfolio of everything I had done at Burrell during my contract period, testimonials from coworkers, and an “about me” section for anyone who just happened to stumble onto the website.
At the end of the page, it said something like “I think we’re a perfect match” and there was a Tinder-like graphic of Burrell and me “matching.”
Shari Williams
Some people liked my idea and others questioned it
I shared my website on LinkedIn and created custom conversation heart candies with my website’s URL to pass around the office. If the company didn’t come across the website online, they’d see the URL printed on this little package. I’m pretty sure I put those conversation hearts on everyone’s desk.
Shari Williams
People seemed to think it was super cute and creative, but they also were like, “Why are you doing all this for a job?”
Getting an advertising job is not easy, and there’s a lot of competition. I knew it was a place I liked working, so I wanted to give it a shot. I just felt like I didn’t have anything to lose. Even if they didn’t hire me, my hope was that people would see it, share it, and something could come of it.
My website gained traction, and I got a full-time offer
The creative director at Burrell shared my LinkedIn post about my website with the caption “Shari, we hear you loud and clear,” and Burrell later ended up extending me a full-time offer as a social content manager.
I took the job but ultimately didn’t stay at the company for much longer. However, having a full-time role on my résumé helped me to land other jobs and escape the “contractor only” trap. Now I work at Northwestern Medicine as a lead social media strategist, and I learned a lot that I use now from my role at Burrell.
I learned to be bold if I want to stand out in the job market
My experience taught me that there are ways to stand out in the job market and compensate for a lack of experience, awards, or big company names on your résumé.
Jobseekers don’t need to take my exact approach, but if there’s a role you really want, it’s worth a shot to be bold and put yourself out there to get noticed. If you’re good at something, find a way to let people know.
