Best or worst cover letter ever? You decide
A brutally honest internship plea is garnering criticism and kudos from Wall Street.
With a tough economy making it harder than ever for college grads and students to get a job, one finance undergraduate decided to take an unusual tack: a brutally honest cover letter.
The letter is apparently getting both praise and criticism from Wall Street executives. Whatever you might think of the letter, it apparently has produced results: Some companies are reportedly considering hiring or interviewing the student.
The writer, whose name was blocked out when it was leaked to Business Insider, didn't spare the author's ego. Here's an excerpt, which blocked out identifying information:
"I am aware it is highly unusual for an undergraduate from average universities like [BLOCKED] to intern at [BLOCKED], but nevertheless I was hoping you might make an exception. . . I won't waste your time inflating my credentials, throwing around exaggerated job titles, or feeding you a line of crapp [sic] about how my past experiences and skill set align perfectly for an investment banking internship."
The writer, apparently a man, describes his abilities as including having "no qualms about fetching coffee, shining shoes or picking up laundry, and will work for next to nothing."
Some of the responses among executives who reviewed the letter included those calling it "hilarious but bold" and another who wrote, "This might be the best cover letter I've ever received."
Yet others were more critical of the approach, questioning whether an applicant should be hired for sounding like a "call for charity," according to Forbes.
"I would still prefer the candidate to have something special about them that they can tell me about, rather than a person who pretty much admits that he or she is pretty average," Lex van Dam, who runs the hedge fund Hampstead Capital, tells Forbes.
The gambit might reflect the risks students and young people are willing to take when looking for a job. More than half of recent college grads were jobless or underemployed, according to a report last year from The Associated Press.
Still, the strategy just might pay off for the blunt writer: "Tons of people are trying to hire him," according to Business Insider.
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| Tags: | EconomyjobsWall Street |
Who ever hires him hit the jackpot! I would rather hire someone like him. His honesty shines through.
Would it not be easier to get an applicant who is willing to "lower" him/herself to advance than one who pumps himself up that you don't know what is true? The latter might become a disappointment later on.
Also, someone with no experience but is willing to learn is alot easier to train. You know he has the educational experience once he graduates. Be brave and take a chance.
It sounds like the guy really wants to work, which is more than I can say for 95% of the college graduates today. They want a paycheck but are unwilling to put forth any effort once hired. It seems that all mundane chores are beyond their assumed scope of responsibility and all they want to do is play on the computer and look important. My husband and I have owned health care businesses for years and there is not 1 in 30 applicants who will look for what needs to be done and then do it without being asked.
This guy sounds like that 1 in 30.
I'd like to see the whole letter. Obviously, only the most brazen segments were pulled for this article, but I have no doubt that the rest of the letter was chock full of good reasons; thus showing the writer's communication skills, confidence, and the ability to take a risk - all key drivers to a prospective employer.
Well played.
A person I know was hired because they included a rejection letter to them self with their resume'; even had a 'SEND' button... How efficient, realistic, and detail oriented can you get!
I read the whole letter. Lex is a complete jagov who is WAAAYYYY overpaid and probably one of the dooshbags responsible for all of the scumminess that happens on Wall Street. The kid said he had a perfect GPA Lex, perfect GPA. Not a ridiculously neat sounding name or pedigree or perfect haircut, but a perfect GPA. Says he'll work hard, wants to learn......you know EARN it. Maybe I'll become a gazillion-air just so I can decide not to invest with Hampstead Capital.
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