Cover Letter: When Audacity Pays Off
20 September 2017
Read by 7245 persons
No more formatted resumes, no more pompous emails. In the Morbihan region of France, a wine merchant hired a student whose handwritten cover letter humorously detailed his alcoholic exploits.
In the age of LinkedIn and online applications, one might wonder if the good old cover letter still serves any purpose. The unequivocal answer is yes. After such a definitive introduction, it remains to unfold the argument, based on the journalistic belief that facts don't lie.
Chicken Scratch
Here are the facts: A few days ago, the wine merchant Ty Kav, based in Sené (Morbihan), posted a job ad on Facebook to recruit “a motivated, smiling, dynamic student for extra work.” Some time later, the company received what could almost be considered an anachronism: a handwritten letter (yes, you read that right). While today it is most often laconic emails that accompany the sending of resumes by electronic mail, this letter, whose characters in chicken scratch had been patiently traced by hand, seemed to come from another age, a time when the chance of interpersonal encounters carried its share of singular surprises.
“Since elbow-bending is a passion of mine, I am obviously willing to come and show you my skills.”
“It is with great interest that I am writing to you to apply for your job posting. I am festive, dynamic, motivated, smiling, and elegant; your ad caught my attention.”
Reading these first lines, we seem to be heading straight towards the main pitfall of this exercise, namely, repeating the elements of the advertisement.
Then, suddenly, the student applying to Ty Kav finally lets his heart (and his liver, let's be honest) speak:
“Wine and beer are foods I know perfectly well. But whiskey, vodka, and other spirits are also part of my daily life. Elbow-bending being a passion of mine, I am obviously willing to come and show you my skills. The only downside: never leave me alone near a beer tap (at your own risk). My motto: Cloudy horizon, stay at the bar!”
A message in a bottle of self-assumed subjectivity: isn't that, ultimately, what a cover letter is? In a world where people tend to become as irreproachable as detox juices and where we are invited to display a profile without deviance, this epistolary transparency with its lingering aftertaste of a never-ending aperitif does us good.
Commedia dell'arte
No, we are not those bland holograms that would fit perfectly into the puzzle of the system, but individuals, all more or less unbalanced, trying to stay afloat in the midst of a vast commedia dell'arte. Behind its outward display of alcoholism, this cover letter, which went viral, intoxicatingly tears away the veil of appearances, managing to touch on a kind of universal aspect of the human condition.
on the same subject
Six tips for landing a babysitting or tutoring job
As for the candidate's work experience, it is in unison: “Various bars, Beer Festival in Monterblanc, Wine Route in the Bordeaux region, Beaujolais Nouveau in 2014, 2015, 2016, Rue de la Soif in Rennes without ever vomiting.” Intrigued by this copiously watered-down journey, Ty Kav gave the party animal a trial run.
lemonde.fr
In the age of LinkedIn and online applications, one might wonder if the good old cover letter still serves any purpose. The unequivocal answer is yes. After such a definitive introduction, it remains to unfold the argument, based on the journalistic belief that facts don't lie.
Chicken Scratch
Here are the facts: A few days ago, the wine merchant Ty Kav, based in Sené (Morbihan), posted a job ad on Facebook to recruit “a motivated, smiling, dynamic student for extra work.” Some time later, the company received what could almost be considered an anachronism: a handwritten letter (yes, you read that right). While today it is most often laconic emails that accompany the sending of resumes by electronic mail, this letter, whose characters in chicken scratch had been patiently traced by hand, seemed to come from another age, a time when the chance of interpersonal encounters carried its share of singular surprises.
“Since elbow-bending is a passion of mine, I am obviously willing to come and show you my skills.”
“It is with great interest that I am writing to you to apply for your job posting. I am festive, dynamic, motivated, smiling, and elegant; your ad caught my attention.”
Reading these first lines, we seem to be heading straight towards the main pitfall of this exercise, namely, repeating the elements of the advertisement.
Then, suddenly, the student applying to Ty Kav finally lets his heart (and his liver, let's be honest) speak:
“Wine and beer are foods I know perfectly well. But whiskey, vodka, and other spirits are also part of my daily life. Elbow-bending being a passion of mine, I am obviously willing to come and show you my skills. The only downside: never leave me alone near a beer tap (at your own risk). My motto: Cloudy horizon, stay at the bar!”
A message in a bottle of self-assumed subjectivity: isn't that, ultimately, what a cover letter is? In a world where people tend to become as irreproachable as detox juices and where we are invited to display a profile without deviance, this epistolary transparency with its lingering aftertaste of a never-ending aperitif does us good.
Commedia dell'arte
No, we are not those bland holograms that would fit perfectly into the puzzle of the system, but individuals, all more or less unbalanced, trying to stay afloat in the midst of a vast commedia dell'arte. Behind its outward display of alcoholism, this cover letter, which went viral, intoxicatingly tears away the veil of appearances, managing to touch on a kind of universal aspect of the human condition.
on the same subject
Six tips for landing a babysitting or tutoring job
As for the candidate's work experience, it is in unison: “Various bars, Beer Festival in Monterblanc, Wine Route in the Bordeaux region, Beaujolais Nouveau in 2014, 2015, 2016, Rue de la Soif in Rennes without ever vomiting.” Intrigued by this copiously watered-down journey, Ty Kav gave the party animal a trial run.
lemonde.fr
