Email me? Nah, I prefer snail mail.

Recently we posted a recruitment ad for a copywriter position.

And we decided on a couple of “tactical” moves. Sort of like an experiment, if you’d like.

Firstly, we avoided the print/newspaper classifieds completely and invested the entire recruitment search online via a job portal. Makes perfect sense, considering the massive adoption of online media today. It’s searchable, and just a click away. No more scanning of that ideal job over small fine print hidden somewhere in the corner of a newspaper. You can amend the job description anytime, even remove it when the position’s been filled. And there will be a direct click-through to our website for more information. And yes, applying for the job will be as simple as clicking the “Apply now” hot button. Everything done and dusted before you can finish a cuppa.

No brainer, isn’t it?

Except for one small teeny weeny “request” I chose to include: interested applicants should SNAIL MAIL their resume to our office address, instead of emailing it.

What? Who in the hell in this age and time will still ask for SNAIL MAIL, I hear you asking.

Well, don’t get me wrong. I do not live in archaic times nor am I an avid stamp collector. There are a few good reasons why I chose to do that.

Firstly, to gauge eagerness, sincerity and effort. If you are truly interested in being part of us, you’d do whatever it takes to make your point. In fact, you’d relish this opportunity to show what you can do. If we’re not worth the little effort of printing out that cover letter and resume, signing it off with pride and a trip to the post office to you, then so be it.

Secondly, to filter out casual job seekers (including overseas “spam”). It’s too easy nowadays to just attach your resume and click send. Even if you’re not exactly looking for a job. We want those that really WANT the job.

Thirdly and perhaps most crucially: self-packaging ability (and conceptual thinking quotient). Electronic resumes all look the same (yeah, with formatting and layout differences, but still lack that personal touch). This is a real chance to see how an interested applicant choose to package himself or herself. After all, it’s for a copywriting position. The thoughts the applicant put into how to package a simple snail mail to sell himself or herself will give me a good indication of the thoughts that will go into how he or she packages our client’s direct mail next. There is now a real, tangible and tactile chance to showcase your conceptual thinking of how you sell yourself. After all, if you can’t market yourself in the simplest basic way, how can you market my clients’ products and services?

Trust me. If you think hard enough, sending a job application over snail mail is not as simple and straightforward as it seems.

Of course, I may be grossly wrong in attempting this little “experiment”. I may even lose out on really talented people out there who balked at the snail mail bit and may even get the impression that we are a company that’s not with the times.

But hey, if you are an award-winning talent who jumped to conclusion too early, didn’t realise the reasons behind this little move, or perhaps a tad too busy to seal an envelope and attach a stamp, then we truly don’t deserve you.