A friend of mine used to proofread all my cover letters. Gradually he started replacing words and phrases and eventually he started completely remodeling my cover letters to entirely fit his writing style. I'm not going to lie and I'll admit I might've induced that behavior by not wanting to deal with my cover letters but that's not the point. The point is - after I while I realized that his letters sound servile. Behind the pompous phrases and complicated sentences was hiding a style revealing insecurity. He was kissing the ass of my potential employers in each cover letter.
Then I thought - if someone *does* ask me for an interview, it'll be someone who likes that cover letter. That means I'll eventually end up working for someone who *likes* to have their ass kissed, and this is the last kind of employer I'd ever want to work for.
So, bottom line, I believe that writing *your* cover letters in *your* style is the best thing you can do for your long-run professional well being. Let your cover letter portrait true confidence and not artificially inflated one. Whoever likes you for who you are is the boss you would most like to work for.
More on how useless cover letters really are - another time.
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Blogging, knitting and selling computers
Yesterday Mom and I were talking about Dad and his mom (my grandma) who died long ago. Mom resentfully noted:
"Your grandma used to knit three pieces a year and she called that having a job, and your dad sold five computers a year and he called that having a job."
That comment made me shrink when I thought about this blog I just started. I felt discouraged on the precipice of my third post. Neither Dad nor Grandma were obviously too successful in their self-acquired businesses. Both of them are/were hypochondriacs who stayed home for the better part of their days. I just imagined what the continuation of Mom's line would be five years down the road:
"...and you write one paragraph once every few days, on some website that nobody reads, and you call that having a job."
The thing is that my Mom is the most amazing person in the world. If I had the power to make her a saint, I would. But she wouldn't understand blogging. She is a hard worker and a highly respected professional in her field and I feel like a loser staying home with Dad these days while I'm supposedly looking for a job. Which is one of the reasons I should get a real job with a steady paycheck even if that makes me a corporate slave.
"Your grandma used to knit three pieces a year and she called that having a job, and your dad sold five computers a year and he called that having a job."
That comment made me shrink when I thought about this blog I just started. I felt discouraged on the precipice of my third post. Neither Dad nor Grandma were obviously too successful in their self-acquired businesses. Both of them are/were hypochondriacs who stayed home for the better part of their days. I just imagined what the continuation of Mom's line would be five years down the road:
"...and you write one paragraph once every few days, on some website that nobody reads, and you call that having a job."
The thing is that my Mom is the most amazing person in the world. If I had the power to make her a saint, I would. But she wouldn't understand blogging. She is a hard worker and a highly respected professional in her field and I feel like a loser staying home with Dad these days while I'm supposedly looking for a job. Which is one of the reasons I should get a real job with a steady paycheck even if that makes me a corporate slave.
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