Am I Weird?

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'd say keep it to one main paragraph. For my money, it really doesn't need to say anything beyond "I'm interested, my resume is enclosed and I would appreciate the chance to talk with you." I know others may feel differently, but I don't pay much attention to cover letters. As soon as one goes into "why I'd be a good fit/what I have to offer," I put it down and move on to the resume. It's the resume, not the cover letter, that gets my interest and makes me decide whether to interview.

I'm with you.

I need the facts first, not the personality.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

This totally depends on the position for me. For interns or entry-level, everyone's resume pretty much looks the same; a well-written cover letter expressing a specific interest in the position helps me decide who to interview.

Fair enough. When it comes down to it, this is all job and profession (and interviewer) specific—what works well in one context may not work as well in another.

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

The one thing a cover can do that a resume can't is express enthusiasm. But you can express enthusiasm at least as well in a paragraph as you can in a page. Probably better.

I don't know. In my experience enthusiasm often does come across well in a letter. It reads as a little forced or something. But it definitely comes across better in a paragraph than in a page.

[DubaiSis]

Well I'd definitely be talking about "I've been aware of XYZ corp since I studied you in my history of awesome companies class at Harvard. As I learned more about your programs to end world hunger and bring on world peace I came to think more and more that I'd love to be part of this organization and do my part to impact the world in such a real and important way" not "OMG you're so awesome! I totally want to work for you!"

[*winter*]

Haha I tried to avoid calling him awesome! It was difficult but I managed

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by *winter*

Haha I tried to avoid calling him awesome! It was difficult but I managed

Calling HIM awesome? Do you know him? Sorry, but that sounds really, really weird.









eta: He must not be Catholic

[*winter*]

I'm joking. It was in response to one of the comments made by another poster.

I was joking about my dad too, obviously, in the other thread. Since I was the one to arrange for the priest to do his Last Rites when he was in the ICU last winter, he is aware that I know how important his religion is to him.


If this is going to turn into some GC pile-on... Not interested.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by *winter*

If this is going to turn into some GC pile-on... Not interested.

LOL. The thread topic isn't interesting enough for a GC pile-on. This holiday week can't possibly be boring enough to warrant that.

[*winter*]

Thank God.

I've come to realize I've already made an ass out of myself. I don't really need to be picked apart by random people on the Internet.

[DrPhil]

I don't think you've made an ass out of yourself. You were motivated and learned from this experience. All of us learn from experiences but we wouldn't learn if we didn't take the initial risk. If every GC username posted a diary of our life's mistakes, you would find some interesting and humbling things perhaps even as recent as this evening.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Lessons learned. Plus, that company may have read your 3+ pages of awesome. Or, you said enough in page 1 to warrant a call back. Good luck!

[DubaiSis]

Shall I tell you about the cover letter I sent to my Congressman while in college asking for a job? In it I said something about that I thought this was the Democrat's year (meaning that's a good thing). Somehow it had escaped me that this Congressman, someone my Dad supported, was a REPUBLICAN. Needless to say I haven't spent the last 25 years working in politics

[amIblue?]

You know the difference between apart and a part. You're cool with me.