More than a year after losing his full-time job, a man has landed his dream role at a Toronto radio station with the help of a pack of crayons.
Kevin Getz is now over a month into his new job at 102.1 The Edge, owned by Global News’ parent company Corus Entertainment.
Having grown up in Pickering, he said he has listened to the station all his life.
“It’s kind of like being drafted by the hometown team,” Getz said.
“I get to put on the jersey. There’s no jersey. It’s a metaphorical jersey I get to wear.”
The 29-year-old was under-employed for more than a year and bounced between freelance gigs in Vancouver after losing his full-time radio job.
When he saw a posting open up at The Edge, he said he decided to get creative.
“The idea I came up with was this super simple, super innocent child’s drawing,” he said.
His resume — sent by letter mail — included a colourful crayon drawing, similar to what a parent might expect of a young child.
“I made a stick figure drawing using crayon of me hosting a show in The Edge studio and the boss giving me a thumbs-up, and there’s some listeners, just happy faces all around us,” Getz explained.
Even the address was scribbled in crayon, made out to Tammy Cole, the station’s program director.
“I thought if someone’s going to make a drawing and do something different, there’s got to be more to this guy,” Cole said.
She told Global News she receives about 300 resumes whenever an announcer position becomes available.
“This was just some great initiative for him to stand apart because 99 per cent of people just upload basic information,” she added.
The stunt paid off for Getz as he has settled into his show, which airs most weekday evenings and weekends.
“Know what you’re worth,” Getz said as his advice to job seekers.
“And if you feel you’re worth that next big job, keep fighting for it because you might get it.”