Will Work For Tweets: The Great Los Angeles Job Contest

Despite what the "Trending Topics" sidebar might tell you, the biggest news surrounding Twitter in the past week wasn't Justin Bieber or Chelsea Clinton. Rather, users were all atwitter about a contest launched by @mikemckayecd—that being Mike McKay, the Los Angeles-based executive creative director for advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi. McKay's challenge was simple: "I have a writer position worth $70k. Funniest twitter response gets it."

Thus the gauntlet was thrown down. As if the job market wasn't already competitive enough, hundreds of "Tweeps" converged on the hashtag #saatchila to vie for a single opening. Among the popular entries submitted to McKay, some personal favorites include:

• "Is this contest nearly over? I have to start training for the astronaut job I won on Facebook." (@iscoff)
• "nigerian ad agency seek writers, send $$$" (@faketv)
• "Does $70k cover the cost of a boob job in LA? I'd be moving with my girlfriend and I'm worried about her self-esteem." (@um_giz)
• "I hope this job isn't for Scion. They're like the Twitter version of a car. 140 inches or less." (@brendyn)
• "I'am probabbly the moost qaulified four thes righter jobe." (@MstrMn, and yes, sic)

The winner was one Jonathan Pelleg, a.k.a. @Peglegington. Pelleg, according to his Twitter bio, is an Austin, Texas resident and native of Los Angeles who was "breaking into advertising while listening to music and enjoying life" when the Saatchi contest came along. So his selection, as it turns out, is both a dream come true and a homecoming wrapped up in one. And the submission that brought about the young man's triumph?

"You have to be concise on Twitter. Like a circumcision, everything extra gets cut off whether you like it or not."

In an interview with , McKay was almost blasé about conceiving the contest out of the blue. "It's really hard to find good writers. I don't know why," he stated. "It's even harder to find people to write dialogue. It's even harder to find funny writers." Of course, the sudden and unprecedented way he launched his offer didn't win him any points with Saatchi's human resources department: "Immediately I get HR coming up and saying, 'What did you just do?'"

The Atlantic notes this isn't the first time a candidate has been awarded a high-paying job via tweet; last year, marketing firm BFG Communications picked a social media coordinator with its own Twitter contest. Still, this doesn't exactly promise to be a new trend in hiring—the odds are slightly better for 3-D video resumes becoming standard for job applications. But it does signify the incorporation by leaps and bounds of social networking for employment and professional advancement. Without being plugged in to the online activities of employers, industry leaders and even your fellow job seekers, you could easily miss out on the unique information and opportunities that will provide an upper hand in beginning or enhancing your career.

And, to drive that point home, Mike McKay soon followed his verdict with a suggestion of things to come: "@Peglegington might need an art director partner. Hmmmm." Any aspiring advertising professionals would do well to keep watching that space.

-- Alex Tuttle, Vault.com