Job-hunter tries a direct tack with 'hire me' sign

Chanelle Haffenden says she's tired of firing off her CVs to faceless HR staff. Photo / Peter Meecham

Chanelle Haffenden is fed up with firing off CVs to faceless human resources managers and is trying a more direct approach.

The 24-year-old has been taking to the Auckland streets with a "hire me" sign and a handful of resumes in a bid to find work.

Despite the Government saying yesterday that unemployment has dropped below 5 per cent for the first time since 2008, Haffenden said it was still tough going for job hunters.

She has been looking for about two weeks but has not heard back from any of the employers she's applied to through Seek and Trade Me.

"I'm in a position where I need a job ASAP so I'm doing this, as well as handing out CVs into stores and applying online," she told the Herald. "I actually did the whole job-sign thing about three years ago ... and I had a job within a week. It's just a different way of doing things."

She has several years' experience in sales and customer service, but said there was stiff competition for vacant positions.

She hopes her show of initiative will nudge her ahead of the pack.

"Let's face it, there are some gaps in my CV and I'm competing with the uni students who are just finishing now, so it's a matter of pulling out all the guns and doing whatever I can to get a job in a week or two."

Matthew Theunissen