This man tried a few ludicrous jokes on his resume and guess what? It worked

5 Resume fixes you should make right now
5 Resume fixes you should make right now

Work is a serious business.

And business is serious work.

More From Inc.com: 10 Things the Most Successful CEOs Say to Themselves Every Morning

If you want a job, you can't afford frivolity.

No one will take you seriously.

And we all want to be taken seriously, because work is a serious business.

So resumes all follow similar serious structures, use similar serious words and present people who are all highly motivated, enthusiastic, creative, passionate team players who are unbelievable perfectionists.

Oh, and unbelievably serious.

How are harried HR people supposed to distinguish one applicant from the next, especially after a fancy lunch preceded by cocktails?

A New Zealand man decided to do something different.

His resume was posted to LinkedIn by Marc Denholm, founder and principal consultant at Talent Hive, an IT and engineering recruitment firm.

It was the last section that caught the eye. Under the heading Weaknesses, there weren't the usual self-criticisms-but-not-really.

Instead: "My looks can be a distraction in the workplace to members of the opposite sex (and in some cases the same sex). I have been told I am an overly generous lover. The filter between my brain and my mouth does not always operate as it should."

One can imagine that anyone who bothered to read this far down in the resume might have performed a double neck-twist.

What did he say? Did he just say that he was sexy? Did he just say that he was astonishingly competent in bed?

Many will, of course, rail against such attempts at wit.

Some will rail because they just don't find it funny. Others because they think it's out of place.

Indeed, Denholm told Business Insider that he doesn't recommend people try this sort of thing.

More From Inc.com: 10 Simple Habits of Insanely Productive People

"Keep the resume professional, save the comedy for later," he said.

One person's humor is another person's insult. And yet another person's confusion horror or incomprehension.

There again, Denholm admitted he found it funny, met with the amateur humorist and had a very good, professional conversation with him and found he was right for the vacancy.

What is one, therefore, to conclude?

You could, should you be humoristically inclined, try a different joke on different resumes you send out.

Should someone ask why on earth you did this, you could say you believe in big data so you were trying to various methods to stand out.

At heart, though, is the idea that a resume should simply be about cold, hard facts, not warm, soft clues to your personality?

It's a difficult decision.

When so many people sound entirely similar, is there something wrong with standing out?

Some people decide to be creative with their resumes -- like Nina Mufleh, who applied to Airbnb and made her resume look like the Airbnb website.

More From Inc.com: 4 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Employees

Many though, like Denholm, insist that you should save any colorful aspects of your personality for the interview.

Sometimes, though, getting an interview can be very hard, subject as it is to so many vagaries.

Is it really so wrong to try something a touch different to attract attention?

After all, the business gurus and self-help books are telling people to be courageous, creative and, you know, themselves.

Should we really criticize them if on their resumes that's precisely what they are?

RELATED: 13 resume phrases that will get you hired

More on Inc.com:
Don't Take Enough Vacation? Blame Millennials, A Study Says
The Incredible Reason Science Says You Should Be Grateful For Airline Baggage Fees
Here It Is: Ikea's Revolutionary New Product in Action

Advertisement