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Cover Letter Inspiration
By Eric Gross | November 7, 2007
Our recruiter emailed over the following with a note stating that, “If more jobseekers wrote from their soul with such truthfulness, it would be so much easier to find the right people.” This one came from a submission on our jobsite for a Systems Admininstrator. From the email…
“I’ve been bouncing boxes for Uncle Sam 2.5 years now in some of the most god-awful places on earth. I’ve racked servers during indirect fire, maintained contact with a bird while our vehicle was shot up, mastered the finer art of the many uses of duct tape and how it applies to IT in a warzone. I’ve put up racks in Namibian provinces while cheetahs and jackals watched me from 100 yards away, I’ve even chased an ostrich who tried to steal my CAT5 from the box. I’ve worked on military projects where the dotmil PM/leadership had a more difficult time making decisions than my wife. I’ve danced in the Red Zone with Iraqi locals after a support call to a Forward Operating Base. I’ve mastered the chemistry of the ‘essential caffeine stack’ and I debunked the myth that if you untie your belly button, your butt will fall off (it won’t!). I’ve been shot at, shot up, blown up, broken and put back together again; from Baghdad to Namibia and from Sudan to Djibouti. I strongly feel that I have the skillset, experience and thick skin to take on the world of IT in the greatest city on earth.”
The person was called right away; while he may not end up as an employee, for sure he’ll be remembered for a very long time.
Topics: People
November 8th, 2007 at 10:45 am
quite creative indeed, he for sure can write in a nice fashion.
but then again i’d personally not have someone from combat zone into my company zone … anyway, i agree with that decision for sure:
“The person was called right away”
November 8th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Those darn Ostriches, always causing trouble.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
It’s all a matter of taste. Seems like a self-important jerk to me.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
hire him. his war stories will do wonders for the morale of the rest of the staff. too often staff get overly concerned with internal company politics. this guy will make them all realise that there is a bigger, wider, and wilder world out there that makes their “problems” pale into insignificance.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
She… I can understand your combat zone to company zone concerns - they are quite valid; however, in this instance, consider the types of situations a sysadmin might face when they’re up to their eyeballs in alligators and yet they still have to drain the swamp. Someone who laughs at stress and performs can’t be all that bad, right?
PENIX… Interesting site…sorry we missed the ZEND convention. Anyway, some times it’s ostriches, at other times emus. They’re just so difficult to predict.
Tim… I wasn’t sure what he was like until I spoke with him - he is self-effacing and pragmatic, misses his wife, and has a remarkable load of work that he is responsible for completing. I suspect you might even like him.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
This is plain and simple the best cover letter I ever saw. I wish I could write something like this next time I need it.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
She… You are right to be concerned about bringing someone who has worked for the military in a combat zone into your company zone. Their outlook will be broader, then patience stronger, and their endurance longer than anybody you currently employ. It can be hard for a company when the average quality of its employees rises. This guy and others like him have done more than your average employee and have done it under pressures which would wilt those with lesser experience.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
redditor… “internal company politics”? What’s that?
Seriously, I’ve worked in lots of places where the internal politics made it nigh-impossible to get any real work done. GridApp manages to avoid almost all of that. It’s a great place to work.
That said, I hope we bring him in for an interview. He sounds like a cool person to talk to.
November 8th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
> This is plain and simple the best cover
> letter I ever saw. I wish I could write
> something like this next time I need it.
Maybe it would be easier to write “something like this” if you spent more time racking servers in a war zone.
It isn’t a remarkable cover letter, per se… it is a remarkable work history.
Is this hardened military tough prepared to take orders from some pencil necked geek who was at home playing video games while he was taking bullets in Bagdad?
November 8th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I’m glad we punish those that go and fight for our country by not allowing them to work for us when they get back.
November 8th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Biggs-It always depends first and foremost on the work; is the work ordinary or novel and innovative? Is the tech environment on the edge? Are the people around them extraordinary?
I’ll bet most companies don’t even know that if you hire someone whose been honorably discharged, they will be relocated free by the US govt.
The technologists typically work with hardware and software that have yet to make their ways to computer conferences. Talk about mission critical - keeping systems up that keep people alive is, I’d say, on par with aggressive software release schedules.
Thanks for all the comments…
November 8th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
I do hope you asked if you could publish this …
November 8th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Don’t be scared of the applicant. Be scared of yourself because you don’t have the guts to do what he’s done. Quick, hire the man. You won’t find many like him.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
It’s always a difficult decision on whether to use a personal appeal in a cover letter. I think everyone has a bit of a tragic side and a personal story. Some people really seem to go for this.
On the other hand, I think I’d find it hard to face an interviewer knowing I’d gotten there like that.
Though perhaps everything should be fair - in love and war and unemployment.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I’d hire him but you better hope he is not this guy: http://itgrunt.com/
Another ex-military it contractor - but if you look at his string of jobs… pass.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
This is just wrong. Contrary to the wisdom provided here or by employers and recruiters generally, anything “different” in your application is very much likely to push you to the bottom of the pile. This includes showing real enthusiasm for the job, research or any kind of individual thought or learned wisdom. Nobody wants to employ individuals, they’re far too much trouble. They want cogs to fit into a machine.
November 9th, 2007 at 8:02 am
17+ Years as a Communications and Computer Systems Officer in the AF, and I was pleased with the tone of these responses, all except for that from She, who disqualifies this person from working in her company simply on the basis of him being prior military.
While this individual was risking his life, She was shopping in the mall and watching Dancing with the Stars. Amazing how someone who has never exhibited a level of personal sacrifice equal to this man’s feels entitled to pass such a quick and hasty judgment on hiring him.
November 9th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Lantis … “Their outlook will be broader, then patience stronger, and their endurance longer than anybody you currently employ.”
I think you meant to say “might be”.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:31 am
>I’ve worked on.. projects where the .. PM/leadership had a more difficult time making decisions than my wife.
Wouldn’t want this guy anywhere near my company.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:39 am
When I got a retail job soon after leaving the active service the boss had to have me come in to open the day after closing. I said no problem and he replied the he liked hiring former military personnel because they are willing to work and get the job done. The non-military employees would whine and complain in the same situation.
Biggs
As a former hardened military tough I can say we know how to take orders, we may gripe about it but we do what we needs to be done. The ones in the military that give orders are pencil necked geek at times as well.
She…
I have been in both zones now and I can tell you the transition is not as bad as you may think. We all are not time bombs seconds from exploding. Most of us just want a simple life that does not include hot lead flying past our heads. Give a veteran a chance we bring a lot to the table that just does not translate into a resume.
I applaud this veteran for not following the experts and downplaying his true experiences.
November 14th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
BenJ - I asked him first; he agreed with no hesitation.
Miles G - no, it’s not ITgrunt
McDave - no, progressive companies want the whole person; obviously the skills must be present. Cogs in a machine is fine for some, not fine for others. Let the potential employer see you and your sense of humor - or whatever trait you choose to let them see; if they can’t accept it, try not to take the job. Despite what some may think, I am not a lone voice out here…
CurrentMilitaryGuy - isn’t this a great country? Where else can people can offer their opinions without having their heads chopped off?
FourScream - very correct…”might be.” You really never know until someone has to drain the swamp when they’re up to their ears in alligators.
Sarge - email me: slevy at gridapp dot com.
Thanks to everyone for offering their comments on this complex issue.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
The sad reality is that most of the IT world, especially the web arena, is scared to death of military types, if not openly hostile to them. And God forbid you have to sit next to some anti-war “progressive” who finds out you are a vet — they will hound you until you beg to go back to a war zone.
And most types in I.T. view a person displaying confidence, bearing, and sense of urgency (all the things the military instills in you) as a “self-important jerk.” They like girlie-men — passive, non-confrontational, meek people who won’t rock the boat.
I don’t even put my 6-years in the USMC on my resume. I’ve been in the “closet” for almost 10 years and have no problem getting work. Just read the vile anti-military posts on Craigslist’s rants and raves from S.F. and Seattle and you will see my point. If you are ex-military and want to get a job in I.T., you will come across a whole slew of heavily pierced prigs who could care less that you got your experience in a combat zone.
That said, I recommend doing what all the H-1Bs do to get I.T. jobs — pad your resume. Also downplay the service to your country. Yes, I know, it is a pathetic business when people will hire an indentured servant over a vet, but such is life. Go guerilla and you’ll do fine.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Here’s a perspective from the UK.
Either this guy really knows his stuff or he’s a blagger. the only way to tell is to sit him down and interview him. If he’s as cool under interview as under fire, then he deserves the job.
The military applicants I’d worry about are the ones who went in as an alternative to school or unemployment as a first job. If the military shaped them up, then fine, but some youngsters in that situation lose some of their humanity.
My one worry? I once employed an ex-Navy intelligence officer. He was used to bashing mechanical keys on a pre-digital encoding machine and when he typed on a computer keyboard his ‘tapping’ nearly bent it in half
September 19th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Personally, I like the military experience - it’s always case by case, but quite often can be great experience.
There’s a great story a friend of mine told me, that reminds me of this guy’s “cool under fire mentality.” It’s about the IT Director at his former company.
They were in a meeting, in a room with floor to ceiling windows looking onto a hallway. The IT Director got a page, looked down at the message, said “excuse me for just a minute - need to take care of something”, and walked out of the room. They watched him calmly pick up a fire extinguisher that was hanging on the wall, and walk in the direction of the server rooms…
Guy was ex-military, as well.