Jacksonville woman posts resume on billboard

Former civil engineer has been unemployed for 3 years

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's hard to miss Kim Wilburn's resume. It's big, it's bold and it's on a billboard.

The Jacksonville woman who was once a civil engineer has been out of work for three years, so she decided to promote herself in a big way.

"It started out as a joke, you know," Wilburn said. "You're riding down the interstate and you see billboards, and I told my husband, 'I think we need to just rent a billboard sign. And now two, three years later, it's become a reality, and we just decided to go for it."

The Clear Channel billboard faces southbound lanes of Interstate 95 at University Boulevard, flashing Wilburn's picture and the words, "Are You Looking for A Professional Employee? Look No Further!"

Wilburn is paying $250 to post her information for 24 hours.

"You have to be different nowadays to get the job," she said. "You have to stand out and be different. And they contacted the radio stations, and here we are."

It's a position the mother of three never thought she'd be in. Both engineers, she and her husband moved to Jacksonville from Atlanta in 2004 and landed jobs. Wilburn was working as a project engineer with a company called DRMP.

Five years later, she says the company laid off everyone in her area's engineering department, including her, and she still hasn't been able to bounce back.

"I've even applied for secretarial jobs and I've been told I'm overqualified," Wilburn said. "It's just, I know I can do the jobs I apply for, I just have to get in front of an actual person to be given the opportunity."

That's why she hopes a billboard will help.

"This is it," she said.

It can't hurt. Clear Channel projects 87,000 people will see her message in the 24-hour period.

"I just can't seem to get in front of a person. That seems to be the hold up," Wilburn said. "I know if I could get in front of someone, I could get a job. It's the whole online, automated process that's stopping me."

Wilburn has until midnight to make an impression with her billboard before it will be taken down. She's just hoping the right person drives by and sees it.