When the going gets tough...

The following story ran in the China Daily earlier this month. As corporations persist in using the "big three" job boards to find the majority of their talent, the talent themselves have begun to be more creative in searching for opportunities! I think the story speaks volumes for those like us who have long urged recruiters to diversify their media strategies when recruiting staff.

Two interesting quotes come out of it. The first is an indication that this girl is not alone in her taobao approach and then of course, our astute Professor from Shanghai's Fudan University who notes that "We don't always have to depend on job fairs and agencies to get a job". You said it Professor Gu!

The story....

By Cao Li (China Daily)

Updated: 2008-12-08 07Shanghai-- A woman who lost her job because of the financial crisis has found a new one by putting "herself up for sale" on an online auction site. The 23-year-old woman got a job for a monthly pay of 3,000 yuan ($436).

She used the false name of tony615_2007 to "post herself" on Taobao.com's website on Nov 18, she told China Daily during an online chat on Sunday. A dozen of companies contacted her and one of them is expected to sign a contract with her on Monday, she said. "The idea occurred to me after I couldn't find a job for two months," she said, refusing to give her real name or the name of the company because she did not want media attention. But she said: "As far as I know, several other people are trying for jobs in the same way."

Cai Yuli, Taobao.com public relations manager, told China Daily on Friday that a Shanghai-based advertisement firm "bought" tony615_2007, offering her a strategy research assistant's post. In the statement posted on Taobao.com, tony615_2007 said she majored in business administration last year with excellent marks. She scored 710 in GMAT and won the first prize in a national English contest for university students.

"I lost my job in this economic recession and have to find another Labor is also a product and I'm selling it here," she said in her posting, describing herself as a "tough person".

"It's a very creative way of looking for a job," said Gu Xiaoming, a professor in Fudan University. "Sometimes, people don't know the right way to find a job. We don't always have to depend on job fairs and agencies to get a job."