a lengthy, desperate and foolishly honest cover letter stapled to a one-page resume

a lengthy, desperate and foolishly honest cover letter stapled to a one-page resume


I am a fresh graduate of AB Communication, and I am not afraid to admit that I have marched down the stage with enthusiasm and optimism for what I could do for the entertainment industry. Now that it is time for me to seek what it is I am called to do, I hope to find it in your company.

But as much as I have for a long time been looking forward to graduating, I actually have dreaded it just as much. Not only have friends from earlier batches shown me how hard job-hunting is by solving it through exporting their skills to the first world, but also in spite of my weakness in figures and numbers, statistics have shown me how highly probable it is that I will be sending cover letters like these forever without so much as a phone call asking for an interview in return. I hope you give me a call—I have graduated; however I have only graduated. I have no medals nor Latin titles to accompany my diploma. Although I believe that I do possess the brains to have done as well, I have nothing to show for it. The ratings on bad luck and inescapable circumstances which led to average marks do not appear on the transcript.

Before I sent you my resume, I was just about to solve this fear by getting an MA. People tell me that a college degree is not as competitive anymore. It will help me in entry level, but prospects of any form of promotion will be hazy without it, they say. But I figured that postponing the inevitable is futile. I could earn myself an MA and still have trouble convincing you to accept me into the company. Or I could get accepted but then I would have to face the egotistic struggle prevalent to most who have worked all their lives to earn academic reassurances. I am talking about having to deal with the feeling of over qualification. This resonates in the minds of those who were given a hard time in school and therefore feels highly of themselves when they overcome the struggle. Optimism is a good trait to maintain, however expectations of coming immediately into world-changing positions is a lethal drawback to this. It is a well-earned feeling; however, it does not help much in settling in the world of job-related stress. So now I am taking my chances by passing my resumé.

Insofar as what I could offer your company, I believe that my strength lies in creatives. I have always dreamt of working on-cam and have taken up classes in performance. I have also always been inclined to creative writing. In fact, I have earned a fellowship to a local workshop and have successfully pursued a minor in English Literature. I am also very much involved with the official university folio as writer, faux editor and manager. My involvement in the folio also exposed me to managing events which I have slowly learned and grown to love. I can only cross my fingers that you are willing to accept someone who cannot work accounting sheets, much more somebody without three years of experience.

I have chosen to study what it is that I love to do and now I have to pay the price by not expecting a stout starting salary, if ever I will be accepted. I do not posses the skills required for a kick-ass cut-throat arena reserved for corporate executives. I am an incidental artist preparing to be a starving one. And even starving artists need jobs.

Thank you very much for taking time in reading my letter. I am looking forward to your favorable response. (Please give me a job because I don’t want to leave this country just to be able to find one.)

posted by carl @ 2:41 AM