What does a dream job look like, and is it even possible to achieve in the real world? Enter Alec Brownstein, an ordinary individual with an extraordinary dream: to land his dream job at a top creative agency. Faced with the challenge of breaking into the industry through conventional means, Alec discovered that the traditional job-seeking route was not only impractical but also nearly impossible. Like many others, he had likely exhausted the usual methods (uploading CVs to different websites, sending countless emails, and submitting spontaneous applications) before reevaluating his approach and pondering if there could be another way to unlock the doors to the creativity heaven.

Undeterred, Alec embraced lateral thinking to indentify a unique way to capture attention of the top creative directors at sought-after agencies: specifically, their egos. The ingenious "Google Job Experiment" unfolded as Alec purchased the names of these directors on Google AdWords, ensuring that his personalized message would be the first thing they saw when Googling themselves. Imagine the surprise of David Droga, Tony Granger, Gerry Graf, Ian Reichenthal, and Scott Vitrone when they stumbled upon a personalized ad addressed to them.

The Results

The unconventional strategy paid off remarkably, with four out of five directors reaching out for interviews. Ultimately, Alec secured a position with the renowned marketing and communication company, Young & Rubicam.

This story serves as a testament to the power of lateral thinking in achieving seemingly unattainable goals. For more exaples of successful lateral thinking, check out this video (in Spanish) where chess player Leontxo García demonstrates the beauty of lateral thinking applied to chess.

What other ingenious examples of lateral thinking can you think of?

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