An “ola” — an immigrant to Israel — took her job hunt to new heights by printing fliers with QR codes leading to her CV near Tel Aviv’s biggest tech company offices. So far, her code has been scanned more than 100 times.
Gila Bublick, 33, made aliyah with her family when she was a teenager from Miami, Florida. Her family settled in Ra’anana before she completed high school and her national service, then pursued her studies and began her professional career in Tel Aviv.
Now, in order to find an opportunity to break through the mold and find a suitable role, she had to get creative.
After turning to various community resources — from the Nefesh B’Nefesh online job board to LinkedIn and networking events — this job seeker knew she would have to try a different approach to get where she wanted to be. If she was going to continue to keep her roots in Israel, she was going to break into an industry that was also deeply rooted and entwined in Israeli life.
After many applications and a long job hunt with no end in sight, she felt burnt out by her job hunt. In an effort to re-energize, she knew that she had to channel her creative problem-solving skills into something productive. She turned to her social media profiles for a poll to see if she should take a big swing and post fliers with a QR code, which when scanned, would lead to her professional resume.
Bold moves in the job hunt might just pay off in the long run
"At first, I was debating it. The [social media] response slightly broke my confidence, but I said ok, wow - I am gonna do this because I want to and not hold back because some people are doubting me," Bublick told The Jerusalem Post. "The only reason people doubt you is because they don't have the guts to do it themselves."
This only launched her job hunt into hyperspeed.
"First, I created a sweater containing a QR code of my CV, and wore it to an OurCrowd event which had 7000 attendees. Then, I knew I need something more permanent. I hung up 50 signs all over Sarona Market," she said.
"My signs were up for 2 weeks, and people have been messaging me and stopping me in the street that they've been seeing my signs. I've reached thousands of people all over and social media; in Facebook groups, people have commented on my post that they've seen my signs and taken pictures of them to send to their friends. After I stopped getting scans, I decided to hang another 50 signs in the next hi-tech scene, Rothschild boulevard. In total it’s gotten more than 120 scans!"
Her big swing grabbed the attention of bloggers and marketers known amongst Olim for advocating for movers and shakers in Israel. Hillel Fuld, a Bet Shemesh-based influencer and ambassador to Israel's tech scene, gave Bublick multiple shout-outs on his page, commending her for such a big swing.
"The only reason people doubt you is because they dont have the guts to do it themselves."
Ola job-seeker Gila Bublick, to The Jerusalem Post
Though her job hunt is still underway, Bublick is not giving up hope.
"Putting the signs up definitely has helped me get noticed and exposed to people who otherwise wouldn't have known me," she told The Jerusalem Post. She has persisted through tough times, much like the country she moved to more than a decade ago with her family.
She has continued to be her own biggest advocate and will continue promoting herself in the field until she finds her next perfect fit.
B'hatzlacha - good luck - to this eager job hunter!