In the past, when people asked me for advice on how to go about getting their dream job, I would look off into the distance and appear reflective. Really, I was likely recalculating the exact age difference between Padma Lakshmi and her billionaire baby daddy (I'm good with timelines) or deciding what I was going to order for dinner that night (I take a long time ordering off menus, so like to plan in advance). When I would eventually refocus on the dream-job question at hand and answer, I'd say vague and unhelpful things like, "That's a good question!" and, "Why not pick up a book about how to do it?" or, "Networking is important!" This was the extent of my contribution to the future dream-job holders of America.
Now, however, that has all changed.
Thanks to one amazing email I got a few months back, I now can point to the perfect template of how to go about pitching yourself for a job you want (in email form, at least). Let's look at the actual email I received, and then I'll break down why it works so well:
To Claire,
I want to work for you and here is why:
- I have worked for numerous organizations such as Kiva, XXX and XXX (all huge organizations you've heard of) and want to work on the platform that helps promote the causes that I like fighting for.
- I love social media such and believe in harnessing the power of marketing to use for good.
- I have read Twitter for Good and follow your blog and that should count for something.
- My undergraduate degree in Business Marketing and my graduate degree in International Relations means I am not a slacker. I have gone to school, worked and interned all at the same time and can handle many different tasks thrown at me.
- I am sure you work a million hours a week and need help... that's where I come in. You must need an assistant, helper, and/or motivator, whatever. I can do all of those things and more.
Here is what we have in common:
- We both have bangs... you can always trust someone with bangs.
- We both have traveled throughout East Africa, you starting your own nonprofit in Kenya and me as a fellow in Uganda for Kiva.
- We tweet for good. You tweet tips for organizations and I follow those tips and implement them at organizations. I have been the primary Twitter contributor for XXX for the past three months and increased the followers by 800-2,000 per week.
- We both love a good poncho, ballet flats, chai tea, the real housewives, brie and people with calming voices according to your new favorite things part on your website. I promise I am not a stalker but I just love the idea of social innovation with the idea of using social media to spotlight the organizations that are changing the world.
If you are interested in any of this or have any ideas on where I can share my enthusiasm for nonprofits and social media, please let me know. Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Just for good measure I have attached my resume and a recent letter of recommendation.
Thanks for your time,
XXX
That was good, wasn't it? Let's break down the top reasons why this email worked so well:
In sum, she did good. Real good.
And although I didn't exactly give her a job as a result of this amazing email, the real story of what happened next was far more interesting.
Follow Claire Diaz-Ortiz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/claire
You didn't give her a job so I'm going to guess that you helped her get a job even better then being your assistant/toady/friend.
Great story!
I want to work for you and here is why: you seem to need a proofreader.
The approach here is definitely ballsy, somewhat original, and I like it for certain types of positions. However, "she wrote well?" I beg to differ. More than just the glaring lack of commas, tedious run-on sentences, and overuse of the word "and," it seems to me that some editing is needed.
Poor grammar:
2. "I love social media such and believe in..." (I love my kid "such" that I don't write it like that; therefore, I am able to keep the job that pays his bills.)
Hyperbole, inappropriate capitalization, excessive explanation marks, and colloquialisms have no place in this type of professional correspondence:
5. "I am sure you work a million hours a week..."
"Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!"
Each section is also written with such a redundant style that there is only a single break in the two numbered sections from a pattern of I/I/I and We/We/We
Perhaps this letter, so well-received, indicates why I see such poorly written content online every day. The writer may still be a worthy candidate for the particular position sought, but holding this letter up as a template seems ill-advised. Perhaps the candidate could help locate an "assistant, helper, and/or motivator, whatever," who can spot the inadequacies of this email?
Bon Chance!
Of course, if someone is stupid enough to take this seriously, they deserve not to get any job, not even cleaning restrooms.
:-)
Too, her sentence "We tweet for good" comes across as awkward, incomplete and/or illiterate.
Her use of all-upper-case-letter words is unprofessional and inappropriate.
Also, her assumed intimacy and flippancy might be off-putting for the more reserved manager who takes umbrage at a worker who is overly familiar at any time, especially one who is merely a potential worker who has not yet had contact of any sort.
Yes, she seems resourceful and eager. No, she does not seem worth a second look. Irrelevant comments made in support of unsubstantiated conclusions such as "We both have bangs... you can always trust someone with bangs" smack of desperation and seem indicative of a worker who would waste time chasing whimsical ideas that are off topic and unproductive.