Dear Blog Gods,
I have been trying to deal with the stress of writing cover letters for my search for a summer internship and it has not been fun. It is a very boring process. I hate having to try and balance professional writing restraints (proper format and everything else that goes along with it such as the lack of personal descriptiveness) with creative writing. I want to come across as a person not just a robot following the ones and twos of cover letter writing while at the same time demonstrating that I actually know what a cover leader should look and sound like. Then there is the balancing act between being too enthusiastic or sounding disenchanted. My goal was to write as many great letters as I could to as many agencies in Jax, Fl as I could during spring break, but since all the lucky people get to go out of town for spring break I was scheduled at work 10 hrs. atleast every single day. Inevitably this has left me with one half completed cover letter. So will somebody just cover my letter, bury it, and write the eulogy so I can get on with the fun things like.... I'm not that fun.
Antonio Luciano
I have been trying to deal with the stress of writing cover letters for my search for a summer internship and it has not been fun. It is a very boring process. I hate having to try and balance professional writing restraints (proper format and everything else that goes along with it such as the lack of personal descriptiveness) with creative writing. I want to come across as a person not just a robot following the ones and twos of cover letter writing while at the same time demonstrating that I actually know what a cover leader should look and sound like. Then there is the balancing act between being too enthusiastic or sounding disenchanted. My goal was to write as many great letters as I could to as many agencies in Jax, Fl as I could during spring break, but since all the lucky people get to go out of town for spring break I was scheduled at work 10 hrs. atleast every single day. Inevitably this has left me with one half completed cover letter. So will somebody just cover my letter, bury it, and write the eulogy so I can get on with the fun things like.... I'm not that fun.
Antonio Luciano
5 comments:
Luciano... If you have time pick up the book "Don't Send Another Resume" by Jeffrey J. Fox.
He does a great job outlining how NOT to be like everybody else.
My advice?
- Be yourself... it's the easiest person to be.
- Don't just blanket your resumes, really target companies you really want to work with and push hard to get there.
- Think about and communicate in terms of what an agency is looking for. Read their job descriptions, their website, reviews about them. Really get to know who they are.
- Forget "professional writing restraints." Yes... communicate in a professional way... but in a way that allows you to show your passion and your craft. (They get loads of the same 'professional' blah blah blah).
- If the "rules" don't let you say what they need to know about you... forget them... After all... You're supposed to be going to work for an agency which is all about communicating effectively about a product (you) to an audience (them).
Good luck... I look forward to hearing about your success!
Check out this great post from Seth Godin about not having/using a resume!
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/why-bother-havi.html
I'll check out those resources, thanks. I've thought about different ways to articulate what I have to offer, but it's the conflict between the creative and the professional that I'm trying to balance. I obviously want to express myself as myself, but I don't want me going out on a limb to be the reason for rejection. One idea I have is to simply tailor the tone of the letter specifically to the tone of the agency, so that I am professional with the agencies that appear more professional (vice versa with the creative ones). I know that strategy is Cover Letter Basics 1.0,but I want to do it in a way that doesn't risk employment. Whatever I do I'm sure I'll figure something out. I appreciate your advice.
Antonio
Hey man, if you ever need contacts I have an HR list of about 90 agencies around the country I've complied. Just let me know. Good luck!
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