Shocker. It seems that ‘humble’ could actually work on Wall Street.
Well, at least for the brutally honest and hilariously self-deprecating young student, whose cover letter publicized on Business Insider, has generated a ton of positive interest amongst investment banking bosses.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the recipient of the e-mail immediately forwarded it on to colleagues, adding, “This might be the best cover letter I’ve ever received. Second and third paragraphs especially.”
Another added to the e-mail chain, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy gets at least a call from every bank out there.”
For your reading pleasure, I’m including the letter in full and have taken the liberty to highlight the classic bits.
From: BLOCKED
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 1:14PM
To: BLOCKED
Subject: Summer Internship
Dear BLOCKED
My name is (BLOCKED) and I am an undergraduate finance student at (BLOCKED). I met you the summer before last at Smith & Wollensky’s in New York when I was touring the east coast with my uncle, (BLOCKED). I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk with me that night.
I am writing to inquire about a possible summer internship in your office. I am aware it is highly unusual for undergraduates from average universities like (BLOCKED) to intern at (BLOCKED), but nevertheless I was hoping you might make an exception. I am extremely interested in investment banking and would love nothing more than to learn under your tutelage. I have no qualms about fetching coffee, shining shoes or picking up laundry, and will work for next to nothing. In all honesty, I just want to be around professionals in the industry and gain as much knowledge as I can.
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 truth is I have no unbelievably special skills or genius eccentricities, but I do have a near perfect GPA and will work hard for you. I’ve interned for Merrill Lynch in the Wealth Management Division and taken an investment banking class at (BLOCKED), for whatever that is worth.
I am currently awaiting admission results for (BLOCKED) Masters of Science in Accountancy program, which I would begin this fall if admitted. I am also planning on attending law school after my master’s program, which we spoke about in New York. I apologize for the blunt nature of my letter, but I hope you seriously consider taking me under your wing this summer. I have attached my resume for your review. Feel free to call me at (BLOCKED) or email at (BLOCKED). Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
BLOCKED.
Not everyone is impressed by this cover letter though.
Lex van Dam, former top trader at Goldman Sachs and head of hedge fund, Hampstead Capital, takes a dim view of the over-hyped reactions of the Wall Street bosses.
“They live on a different planet – and probably have never seen any of these letters before as their HR departments are trained monkeys.”
In other words, another example of a viral letter for entertainment purposes, that is much ado about nothing. And yes, I’m doing my best to ignore the ‘trained monkeys’ bit.
He goes on to explain, “The letter is well written and makes you have great sympathy for the applicant. However, it also feels as a call for charity. 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. This letter is really not an exception – plenty of smart, hard working, honest people are begging for jobs that are just not available. To get ahead unfortunately, writing beautiful letters is not likely what will get you the job – doing extra ordinary things and thinking outside the box is.”
Still though – you’ve got to hand it to the applicant, who is probably the one in all of this having the last laugh: the seemingly average candidate may just have scored the internship of his or her dreams – the one that most college students would give their eyeteeth for – and it all came down to an average, albeit inspired cover letter.
Find me on Twitter @maseenaziegler or Facebook @maseenaz
Also on Forbes:
How To Write A Cover Letter
show morePut the name of a mutual contact in the first sentence.
This is the ideal way to start a cover letter, because it immediately sets you apart from the pile of applicants who have no relationship to the employer.
Apparently this particular cover letter is causing quite a stir due to it's "honesty", certainly the writer must be more than average to have come up with such an out of the box solution, and therein may lie the success, in the almost "mafia like" level of communication. It is a little bit like in the movie Casino, or actually any Italian mob based movie. "I don't know, what are ya gonna do?", means, that the person being discussed has got to "go", as in be dispatched. As we recollect, in the John Gotti an other mob trials, "tires" mean heroin, etc, etc. The person who wrote the letter by emphasizing their ordinariness, actually is playing a game of doublespeak. Pretty good going. Touching on all the important points, and thereby displaying a highly mature level of communication.
Having spent some time working for our own human resources department, I know what it is like to plough through a two inch pile of resumes, or curriculum vitae's as they say in Europe, call after call, some badly spaced, lacking the correct contact information, too many contact telephone numbers, or a number that lies hidden in a three page resume, buried in small type at the bottom. Calling grumpy or half awake applicants, households with dogs barking, children crying and phones ringing, as well as right in the middle of the call someone coming to the phone. People who are on the bus, people who are walking down the street with busy traffic in the background, roaring past generating an almost deafening roar. And so on and so on.
Perhaps the most important insights one might offer, is that, when you have a pile of cv's, you very quickly learn to scan quickly as you are starting to dial. The first few resumes you read, you spend three minutes reading them minutely, then you call, simply to find that the person is not in, or has found their job, or has an interview somewhere else, wasted effort on your part. So what you do is develop a shorthand way of pursuing contacts where you learn to ask simplistic questions, while you half listen and quickly read. If someone does not care to put all their info on the cv, or is hiding something, or lying to get the job, it will quickly become apparent to you. A few quick questions will give you the foundation of the conversation, and also the sub texts to what is said. There is nothing better than getting someone with a great positive attitude, what I learned to call my superstars, people who are giving off the right vibe, who already seem to be be part of the team, that give you the feeling to just say "come on down", "start today", after wading through twenty or thirty grim discussions. Lack of confidence will neutralise many applications progressing, you have to have something to say for yourself, be interested, and to have been interested enough to research your possibly new employer, and to have reasons why you would like to work for this particular company.
Have some notes with you, or ready by the phone, if it is really not convenient, many companies will not leave a message, they want to control the times that you might call, and want to avoid "clingons", so we like to call you. If the kids are crying, ask if the person can call back in ten minutes, or after lunch, really emphasize how important this contact is, and remember, if it is not the right time, it may take a day or so for the interviewer to get back to you, if at all, your resume goes to the bottom of the pile.
Be on the game, on the ball, on time, and ready to go. Just a few quick tips, and hope they help.
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