Whatever It Takes

Alex Kearns had tried the sparkling cover letters and the polite follow-up phone calls, but job after job kept going to other applicants. So the 23-year-old French and Italian major took matters into his own hands – literally. He held up a giant magic-marker version of his CV in London's Trafalgar Square for an hour.

The enterprising graduate had landed one of the 2,400 hour-long slots on the Fourth Plinth in sculptor Antony Gormley's One & Other Project. The Fourth Plinth – in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square – was built in 1841 to house an equestrian statue, but has been empty for years. It's now used for specially-commissioned artworks -- currently Gormley's -- which saw the public applying for the chance to occupy the plinth for an hour each, 24 hours a day, over the course of 100 days.

Most plinth perchers use their time to promote causes. Kearns opted instead to promote himself, waving a 10-foot version of his CV hand written on wallpaper. He also added the words: "Save a graduate. Give me a job." (One of the interests he listed: "plinth dwelling.")

According to the UK's Daily Mail, a manager at the International Business Development Group heard (well, saw) his plea and called him. After a phone interview, the Swansea University graduate was invited to participate in an assessment day with 16 applicants. Kearns was one of three offered a job working as a sales executive.

"In the current climate you have to work hard to stand out from the crowd," Kearns told the UK’s The Guardian.

Apparently standing out in London traffic also helps.

Photo courtesy of WhatNeloSaw via Flickr.