In the last month, since I started recruiting for a new client, I’ve been reminded how creative artists are in coming up with ways to keep from being hired and avoid being interviewed. Here are some of my favorites:

Using and misusing the Internet
“My résumé is on my Website.” Send a Website address instead of a résumé and expect the employer to visit the Website to retrieve the résumé. Make them do the work. If the Website doesn’t work or your résumé can’t be retrieved or found, that’s fine. The employer can try the connection again later. Expect the employer to do extra work by visiting your Website to get your résumé. Don’t just send it to them. Don’t include your Web address on your résumé for employers to check out.

Too attached
Send an attachment, which can’t be opened. Send attachments that take a long time to download. Any company worth working for should have a high speed Internet connection. If the attachment takes more than a minute or two to download, that’s fine — what else are employers using their computers for anyway?

Got the picture?
Embed huge images in e-mail to freeze up mail systems. Big files can’t be opened but you’ll intrigue the employer, and he’ll contact you to ask about what you sent.

Sabotage your résumé
Here are some ways to keep the phone from ringing and reducing e-mail.

Incommunicado
Leave your e-mail address off your résumé. You don’t want recruiters contacting you any time, day or night. (Some don’t bother with résumés without e-mail addresses on them.)

Send a résumé, demo reel and breakdown sheet with no contact information on them. Don’t clutter your résumé, demo reel and breakdown sheet with your name, phone number and e-mail address.

E-mail your résumé but don’t include your e-mail address on the résumé. A potential employer should be able to cut and paste the e-mail address into the résumé. It doesn’t matter if some companies get résumés in huge databanks and they never see the original e-mail address. You don’t want to work for a big company like that anyway.

Don’t include your contact information. Send a résumé with just your name on it. Don’t include your phone number (with correct area code), e-mail address and mailing address.

Send a résumé in an e-mailed message by cutting and pasting HTML format so the code is imbedded in message. Employers love reading between the lines.

Send a résumé in JPEG format. This makes it difficult to open or print.

Send your résumé as an Adobe Acrobat pdf file and make sure some logo graphics obscure and cover important information like your e-mail address and other contact info.

Play hard to get by having different phone numbers on each of your marketing pieces — the numbers on your résumé, demo reel and demo reel breakdown should not match. Make them figure out which phone number is the current one with the correct area code.

Be secretive about the types of software you know — mention that you know 3D software but don’t be specific about what 3D software you do know, such as Maya or 3ds max. Make them call you to find out.