A woman from Arizona was left horrified after realizing she had been applying for jobs on LinkedIn using a joke resume she uploaded after growing tired of the endless slog of online applications.
Brenna Craven Dumas told Newsweek she spent three days applying for jobs with the satirical CV before realizing her mistake. "Honestly, at first, my stomach dropped, I was mortified that I had missed that," she said.
Fortunately, she was able to see the funny side and later uploaded a video to her TikTok account, happyboxes.art, detailing the error.
When it comes to job applications, attention to detail is key. A 2018 survey of hiring managers by the career growth website Careerbuilder found that 77 percent consider typos and bad grammar to be instant deal-breakers.
Dumas' mistake wasn't anything to do with a misspelled word or misplaced comma though—but the result of one too many applications and a desire to inject a little fun into proceedings.
In what she described as a "moment of madness," Dumas said that after a day of applying for jobs and "feeling depressed," she decided to create a "joke resume" and applied for a job with it. Dumas who works in HR herself is also a writer and illustrator of children's books.
The role advertised was listed as "confidential" on LinkedIn, meaning Dumas had little idea of whom she was applying for—something she felt was a little unfair to potential applicants like herself.
"The job market is a strange place at the moment," she said. "My joke CV was not so much about the rejections, but the frustration of not finding the job postings I want. I try to make sure the company has a solid culture and the benefits my family needs before I apply. With confidential postings, you can't do that."
She decided to take an old resume she had used for freelance work, which was on her computer, and add a "mustache and sunglasses" to her profile pic while changing the names of the companies she worked for to "confidential" to match the information in the job posting.
After uploading the joke resume, she applied for the role it was intended for and then logged off. That was when the problems began. "I did not remember to remove it and it became my default resume for a few days when I applied for other job postings."
Despite the embarrassment, Dumas was quickly able to see the funny side and was happy to share her story on social media, where fellow job hunters were similarly amused.
"At least your resume stands out," one user joked on TikTok with another writing: "Reapply with the right resume, they'll never know with that disguise you used."
Dumas, for her part, is philosophical about the whole experience and has no regrets given the response the video has had online with 900,000 views and counting.
"There's no use in crying over spilled milk. I am more than happy to laugh about it and laugh at myself. It's a good reminder to double-check my work," she said. "I don't regret the act or sharing it because other job seekers on TikTok have shared similar stories—we're all in good company it seems!
There may even be a happy ending to it all too. "I had at least one interview from the satirical resume," Dumas said. "I also have other interviews in January, but I can't confirm if they 100 percent came from the satirical one or my legitimate one."
Either way, Dumas and many more on social media have learned a valuable lesson.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
