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Topic: When you send a cover letter!
| Author | Message |
| natalie | Posted – 4/17/2008 2:45:09 PM | show profile | email poster I put up an ad on Craig's List for a fashion writer and I am appalled by the inquiries I have received. There are some who do not even bother to write a cover letter. There are those whose spelling mistakes are simply outrageous. I was very clear in what I was looking for and I received resumes from people who did not have any interest in fashion at all. I also received photos from actors. No letter, nothing, just their photo. This is just a reminder to people if you want a job and you are asked for specifics, you would be smart to look over the post and write accordingly. I thought being in NY I would receive posts from intelligent or at least thoughtful people. Boy was I wrong! |
| WordyBird | Posted – 4/18/2008 7:04:36 PM | show profile Craig's List is free, isn't it? Well, you get what you pay for. |
| Unemployed-gal | Posted – 4/18/2008 9:28:27 PM | show profile | email poster I think there's a small fee to post job ads. But yeah, you do get what you pay for. Also Craigslist appeals to a wider audience than say, mediabistro or Publishers Marketplace, so that might be where your "applicants" are coming from. There's quantity there, but not quality. A story: I once temped for someone who also did the advertise-on-Craigslist thing, and he ended up getting applications from: people who lived out of state/ the country, people with no relevant job experience, people who hadn't graduated from college yet (it was an entry-level job and it was October), just to name the most common things. There were the people who just sent the resume and nothing else. Then there was also the guy whose cover letter salutation was, "Hey, (insert first name of my erstwhile boss)." We got an investment banker who wanted to change careers. We got another guy who wanted to discuss salary up front because he wanted to "make a career move." Another person began her cover letter bragging about her status as a Harvard alumna. Someone else told us that their greatest contribution to us would be answering the phones. The list goes on. So I know you haven't been alone in searching for someone appropriate to fill a position. And it's frustrating and disheartening for the people who apply to these jobs, who actually do what's required and have the qualifications--sometimes our applications get lost in the shuffle of so many doozies. But it is good advice for a job seeker to read the ad carefully so that you don't waste an employer's time (and space in their e-mail inbox). It should be common sense, but so many people don't do what's required that it has to be said out loud. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/19/2008 2:47:57 AM | show profile You can find talent via craigslist. But you have to expect if you open the floodgates to everyone, you'll also get a lot of crap. But to your point of looking at the post and writing accordingly: I've gotten a few good gigs from craigs list, but I've also encountered a lot of people who are looking for the cheapest possible writers they can find. Personally, I don't take CL ads all that seriously. I just send out a form letter and whatever happens happen. I am experenced and a good writer, so I have good material. But because I know a lot of CL ads are cut rate folks, I won't spend anymore than 30-60 seconds in preparing my response., |
| DHernandez | Posted – 4/19/2008 11:44:13 AM | show profile Hey, guys, Media Bistro is also free. Loads of talented, experienced people look for jobs on free boards. Leave no stone unturned, right? Years ago, when I advertised for employees, my experience was similar to natalie's, right down to apps from people with no real interest and mystery apps consisting of a photo or a poem. Weird stuff. I figured a lot of what I got came from people trying to make the required number of job contacts to keep receiving unemployment benefits. On the sad side, bad spelling and grammar sank so many applicants. You can't louse up the language when applying for an editorial job. I'd figure that 10 percent of applications were worth reading all the way through. It really is that bad. |
| Righter | Posted – 4/19/2008 1:19:30 PM | show profile I once saw a cover letter coming through craigslist with the guy first starting with "While the salary is nothing to write home about, I'd be an asset because..." !!! |
