Is it possible to get a job in 7 days? Day 1 and 2 – “Project Easy Money”

So the challenge to find a job in a week has been set. Lets see what Jim did with his time on Day 1 and 2...

Reality sank in. It was the morning after the night before. The bet had been made, rules agreed and the challenge was on. On the back of a napkin I find a small contract dictating the rules, and the signatures of all those present the evening before who had placed the bet. There was no way out of it now; this (I was assured) was a legally binding napkin.

Early on a bright and breezy Saturday morning Jim was already on the case – and he was in a jovial mood. The phone rang and woke me up.

“I figure you deserve an update on 'Project Easy Money'. So far it's not looking good...for you. After a ropey start I have already pulled together a CV and covering letter. Admittedly, my confident /arrogant estimate of 20 minutes for each was shot out of the water but it’s results that count in this competition…”

He had even decided to get a jump on the plan for Sunday by doing a little reading and research on the sector, opportunities and openings.

It all seemed too good to be true, so I probed a little further as a good HR/ recruitment professional should do. “So, you’ve written your CV in one morning; Is it tailored towards each of the companies / roles you are going to apply to? How long is it? Does it reflect you personality? Have you taken out any jargon?”

“Yes” Jim responded.

A simple and confident answer! I could only assume that he was playing it down a little and had either a) been up all night working on it b) he was nowhere near as prepared as he claimed to be or, most likely c) both.

My confidence about wining our little wager started to wane but received a welcome boost on Sunday when the next update arrived.

Paraphrased a little, Jim told me late on Sunday evening. “What with the 10k in the morning, German F1 at lunch and lazing around in the afternoon, Sunday's work was postponed until late evening. Fortunately a Knocked Up and Austin Powers double bill helped me get some decent computer time in. The first emails went out late this evening.”

Again, as a professional, I was a little concerned. Had he really put enough thought into this? Who and what had he applied for? He wasn’t divulging much information at all.

I was having a morale dilemma now. He is my friend; of course I wanted him to get a job. On the other hand, I was hoping perhaps he made a horrendous mistake in the rush to get his CV out. Perhaps he had accidentally put a link to his Facebook profile which contained a naked picture of himself; maybe he had forgotten to remove the skill stating that he was able to say his ABCs backward in less than five seconds or eat 45 eggs in two minutes (all real examples of CV mistakes I’ve seen!).

It was too late in any case. The wheels were well and truly in motion; he seemed to have made a huge amount of progress since Friday. Dedication can clearly get your along way. Not much I could do now but sit back and wait for the dice to roll.

Would he get any feedback from his applications? Will he be invited to interview? Stay tuned for the next installment...

Is it possible to get a job in a week? A friend of mine thought so!

Is it possible to get a job in a week? A friend of mine thought so. We put him to the test to see if he could go from writing a CV to a signed employment contract in just seven days. Can simply being persistent, bold and active get you through companies' recruitment processes more quickly, or will he get beaten by the system? I had a wager on the system winning – not that I doubted his abilities. We will follow the story over the next few weeks and see what he does and what the secret to job hunting might be.

“A job in week? No problem. This is going to be easy!”. Never one to be short of self-belief, Jim had a few gulps of beer and finished off his crisps. “I’ve been out of work for a while, not because I can't get a job, but because I haven't really tried to get a job”. We laughed and retorted "Pah! £100 quid says you can get a job in 7 days!"

Everyone agreed it was about time Jim got a job, even Jim. So sure of his employability, Jim even let us set criteria for the job. A few moments later, it was agreed. He would apply for a job in the charity sector, working at head office in a full time job, paid at least 20k a year in London's Zone 1 - and he wasn’t allowed to use contacts that he already knew. I should add that he had never worked in the charity sector before. Success would be measured by a signed employment contract by 8pm on the following Friday, back in the same pub.

Now, Jim is a talented and smart chap. It wasn’t that we didn’t think he could get a job. We just didn’t believe that the recruitment systems and processes would enable it to happen that quickly. So, the challenge was on.

Can you get a job in week? From writing the CV, finding the jobs, applying, interviewing and then processing the paperwork? The wager was placed, hands shoook, and Jim armed with a brief plan scribbled on the back of a napkin, grinned and announced “This is going to be easy!”... We all laughed again. ... Easy money, surely?

Watch this space for the first installment of Jim's epic challenge.

1 man; 7 days; 1 job offer; £100s on the table.