Overqualified person applys to a Wall Street job...

[liberal N proud]

Guy applies for Wall Street job, says he has 'no special skills'

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 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

http://www.forbes.com/sites/crossingborders/2013/01/16/wall-street-bosses-are-calling-this-the-best-cover-letter-ever-but-not-everyone-agrees/

[dkf]

1. This comment is ridiculous...

"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.”

It's an internship for God's sakes.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. He misspelled 'crap'

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Yikes. That's always a red flag when I'm going through resumes.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

5. Perhaps that is how those Wall Street types spell it

It could be their way of expressing that their crapp is better than the crap we normal serfs produce in the crappy little bathrooms we use. Our crap is unfit to be mixed with their crapp, as theirs is laden with gold and jewels along with the scent of freshly cut roses.


Well, I'm off to use the copier...

[DetlefK]

4. A No-go for a very simple reason:

Nowadays companies tabulate their applicants: What are his skills and how good is he at them.
If you or your letter don't fit into that bureaucratic scheme, you're out.
(One company asked me three times to rewrite my cover-letter and reapply. In the end, the outline of the cover-letter was to their criteria and they didn't take me anyway.)

I know a guy who's a manager at a major company. He told me that he thinks this system sucks as some skills and attributes just can't be classified as hard numbers. He prefers to read the cover-letters himself instead of just getting the yay or nay from HR.