OT: I really messed up on a cover letter

[Jason_W]

I saw an ad for a job that was within my skill set and I really wanted. I put my all into the the cover letter, and I dare say it was a borderline work of art. Unfortunately, I made a formatting error that I didn't catch until just now, a week after I sent it.

You have to be oh so perfect these days, or you just don't make the cut for an initial interview.

[iceman]

Regroup and resend in proper format. What the heck nothing to loose. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Good luck.

[AJMD429]

I used to slip in cute or even off-color comments into stuff like term papers or whatever I'd type for my wife when we were in college; she was a slow typer, so she'd read her hand-written paper to me, and if I got far enough ahead to do so, I'd insert 'stuff' of some sort. I'd print that copy up, and print a 'clean' one later to swap out once she found the onery comments.

I always had to be SURE she found them, though, and didn't slip off to class with a term paper that on page seven had the line "and I just love ice cream and cookies" inserted into something on Roman architecture...

[El Chivo]

I beg to differ; most of what they will get will be very nearly illegible, if your letter looks ok and has most of the words in the right order, you'll be leading the pack.

If your "skill set" doesn't include carriage returns or tabs they'll just have to get you a secretary.

[Old Ironsights]

I beg to differ; most of what they will get will be very nearly illegible, if your letter looks ok and has most of the words in the right order, you'll be leading the pack.

If your "skill set" doesn't include carriage returns or tabs they'll just have to get you a secretary.

Flip side to that... I applied for a job at the Mittal Steel once. When I turned in my application it took the secretary fully five minutes to get over the fact that not only was my application legible, it was TYPED.

Then I went on and proceeded to fix the computer that I was to take their mandatory testing on that the proctor coulden't get working... and still completed the test before everyone else in the room (who had operable computers to one-finger poke on).

Funny, they never called me back.

[piller]

O.I., they probably thought that competence was something to worry about as they didn't want someone to come in and take the supervisor's position away from him. Sadly, I have seen too many places where the company didn't hire the best due to just that reason.

[Old Ironsights]

O.I., they probably thought that competence was something to worry about as they didn't want someone to come in and take the supervisor's position away from him. Sadly, I have seen too many places where the company didn't hire the best due to just that reason.

I long ago came to the conclusion that Hiring is not based upon competence, skill or efficency, but is done just like women buy appliances: Buy/Hire based on color, shape & size...

[El Chivo]

O.I., they probably thought that competence was something to worry about as they didn't want someone to come in and take the supervisor's position away from him. Sadly, I have seen too many places where the company didn't hire the best due to just that reason.

or because what you earned at your last job was $2.00 an hour more than the supervisor makes and he doesn't want to admit it.

[Old Ironsights]

O.I., they probably thought that competence was something to worry about as they didn't want someone to come in and take the supervisor's position away from him. Sadly, I have seen too many places where the company didn't hire the best due to just that reason.

or because what you earned at your last job was $2.00 an hour more than the supervisor makes and he doesn't want to admit it.

Not at the Steel Mills. Bottom of the dungheap there made $16/hr starting...

[Jason_W]

O.I., they probably thought that competence was something to worry about as they didn't want someone to come in and take the supervisor's position away from him. Sadly, I have seen too many places where the company didn't hire the best due to just that reason.

or because what you earned at your last job was $2.00 an hour more than the supervisor makes and he doesn't want to admit it.

Not at the Steel Mills. Bottom of the dungheap there made $16/hr starting...

Wow

I'm praying I get something that pays 10/hr.

[lthardman]

Just a suggestion, but I would say send them a corrected copy with a separate note. In your note, tell them how you are the kind of person who admits when they made an error, and will do whatever it takes to correct it. Even if the "damage may be done," you are the kind of person who has to make things right. That just may impress them a bit. I'll bet the reader might just wish he had that kind of co-worker.

[MrMurphy]

When my dad's company (Hughes Aircraft) finally liquidated, he had 25 yrs of workaholic and nothing to do, he slowly went nuts. He applied to Home Depot and Lowe's cause standing around talking about tools would keep him from going crazy.

Looking at his resume (20 yr military, 25 yrs with Hughes starting as a security guard ending as a senior executive making six figures) he figures he didn't get the job because him just being himself, would end up running the store (efficiently) inside a month.........



On the "insert" thing.......there was a colonel in the Army once who knew his sergeant major very, very well, having known him off and on since they were corporal and lieutenant. He was in a major hurry, had 3,001 things going on and asked the SGM to help him out with his writeup for his OER (more or less his eval for the year on performance, in his case by a general).

Since he "knew" the colonel would be reviewing it before handing it over to the general, as a joke, he inserted under one of the comment sections "This officer plays very well with others, but plays even better with himself" or something pretty close to that.

Annnnnd then the colonel didn't look it over.

Apparently, the explanation (the general had known the SGM most of his career as well) was "interesting"........ but the colonel survived it.

[O.S.O.K.]

Jason, have you checked with UPS? A while back they let out a press release that they are hiring a bunch of people over the next few years to replace retiring employees, etc. - they pay very well and have great benefits and there's room to advance if you want.

I think it listed "average" pay for their drivers as $72K or something... which probably means you'd be close to $45-50K to start. That's more like $25 on up an hour.

Just an idea.