Desperate graduate sells himself on eBay

After submitting over 150 job applications, Edinburgh Napier University graduate Ross Laing has fallen back on an unusual job hunting technique - putting himself up for auction on the Internet bidding site eBay.

Tired of rejections and a lack of job interviews, Ross is hoping that the auction will attract the attention of employers, as he felt he had ‘run out of conventional methods’ to get a job.

With a 2:1 in market management honours from Edinburgh Napier University, Ross has been applying to jobs in the field of marketing since the summer of 2011 with no luck. By auctioning himself off he says, “It is an interview with myself… If I can’t market myself, how am I meant to market a product or service for a customer?”

Currently working at Laing the Jeweller in Edinburgh, he has not been able to earn enough money to begin paying off his large student debts. He says, “I owe over £10,000, which I hoped I would be paying off by now.”

The auction, which closed on 11 February, had three bids placed at the time of going to print, with the leading bidder willing to pay £11.50 for the ‘Marketing Management Graduate’. There is also no need for the winning bidder to pay for postage and packaging, as Ross needs to be collected in person.

The money raised from the auction is not for Ross’ personal gain. The profits from the auction will go to the charity of the highest bidder’s choosing.

He says; “This is a really good cause and it gives me an opportunity to impress. If nothing else, a local Edinburgh charity will hopefully benefit from some cash.”

He hopes that advertising himself in such a unique way will draw the attention of Edinburgh’s top businesses, as well as making him available on a national scale.

Some students have been inspired by Ross’s creativity, though they are anxious of the situation that brought him to create the auction.

“I think that despite less people applying to university this year, there still won’t be a great availability of graduate jobs, and having higher student loans to pay back is a bit daunting,” says prospective student Clementine Maas. “In the end, you will still be at an advantage to those who don’t get a degree, so that’s what’s important.

Source: Zoe Tautz-Davis, Studentnewspaper.org, Tuesday 14th February 2012