A 21-year-old recent business graduate from India has landed a highly sought-after opportunity at GQ by getting creative with his application.
Sumukh Mehta had his eyes set on the men’s magazine for a while. The mere mention of its name would give him “an adrenaline rush.”
When it came time to apply, he knew he’d have to make his CV stand out.
“[I] started thinking that if I send a normal resume and mail it to the company, I’m sure it’ll end up in the bin,” he said.
So he spent three weeks meticulously modelling his resume after the pages of the men’s magazine, right down to the graphics.
His 11-page “special resume edition” featured a cover photo of himself, a profile article, pictures throughout, and a listicle of his experience.
“It had two ads too, which was the typical GQ resume ad, and had humor too. [One ad] said, ‘Free Indian food if you order today!'”
Mehta then couriered the final product to three GQ offices. Within two days, he received a call from the GQ India publisher.
His goal, though, was to land a role in the London office. Halfway through his final semester, the managing editor of GQ British finally reached out to him via email, saying his unique CV managed to impress the editor-in-chief.
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Mehta was offered a six-month paid internship, which he hopes will let him hone his marketing skills. He’s still trying to figure out some work visa issues but plans to start his GQ gig in the fall.
The new business grad is no stranger to crafting unique CVs. He’s made about 160 for Banglore job seekers, charging anywhere from just over C$10 to C$56 for custom infographic resumes. Since his resume went viral this week, he’s received more than 300 resume requests from people around the world.
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His resume-building advice to others is to: “Be as original as possible. Give a clear picture of what you’re looking for … and what you’ve done.
“Do not confuse HR by putting up everything on your resume and just filling the blanks. Make it as simple as possible. That’s what I’ve done and it worked for me.”
You can check out his full CV below:
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