I've been in the HR and recruiting business for a long time now and I'm not easily surprised by what I see in job applications. Well, I was recently surprised! I have an 8 month old daughter and in our quest to maintain some semblance of a normal adult lifestyle we've been on the hunt for a babysitter. Our job posting stated pretty clearly what we were seeking – a babysitter who was available 2 days a week for a couple of hours in the afternoon and one night every other weekend. Our main requirement was having previous experience caring for infants. And here's what I received. I can't decide if I love it or hate it – you be the judge. This woman has accomplished more in her teen years than I accomplished by the time I was 30!
Remember, the job posting was for a babysitter!
To whom this may concern my name is Jane Smith and I have lived on Cape Cod my entire life, I am currently following my dream and attending MassArt for Fashion Design. My main focus is costume design and I am entirely devoted to both sewing and designing. I am passionate, determined and love a challenge. I love children and have always had a way of bringing out the best and creating excitement for any situation. To bring happiness to anyone including children is such an honor and privilege. This job would be both a blessing and something I would take pride in.
I started sewing four years ago when I took the fashion class at Barnstable High school. I have now made over seventy garments. I have participated in art shows and fashion shows and have had several pieces within these shows. I was on the front cover of the Rising Stars in the Cape Cod Times and I also was in the Washington Post for both my fashion designing and determination. As you will see I have made things for formal occasions and casual settings. I am able to also revamp garments to make them more modern, a
s well as use unconventional materials to create everyday attire. (Such as using a laundry hamper liner to create a sundress and newspaper to create a top.)
I have been associated with two Unitarian Universalist churches for my whole life. I attend both First Parish Brewster and also Barnstable Unitarian; I was on the board for social justice and am an active member of the Gay Straight Alliance. I have been an ally for my high school and colleges GSA for several years. I also have rowed for Cape Cod Rowing through high school and attend karate classes at the Barnstable YMCA. I was also part of the Free Tibet club, Fashion Club, and Art Honors Society. I have written for a medical journal and was a featured speaker amongst several physicians at a medical conference in Chicago. In addition my poetry has been selected to be published within a collection of young poets throughout the Cape. I have volunteered to teach a dozen middle school girls how to hand sew over a 5 week program Barnstable middle school created for enrichment. I additionally volunteered at the Boston Children’s Hospital to help sew pillow cases for children with cancer and I am currently in the process of becoming an official volunteer for the hospital. I recently came back from working for 2 months at an overnight camp in PA where I gained a great deal of experience with taking care of 8 nine year old girls and teaching large art classes for children of all ages.
I hope to hear from you soon and appreciate your time. Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns. I would love to meet with you to discuss the prospect of babysitting for your child.
Just reading this makes me tired!
I don't think she's the right person to take care of my daughter but I feel like I need to give her a call. Either to give some advice on how to apply for jobs or to hire her for something on the spot!
Here’s what I think happened. She read online about cover letters and how you need to sell yourself. So she did, but it was misguided. She probably had her mom and dad review it and they told her “excellent” because they think it is and don’t realize it’s missing the scope. She seems like a hard charger who is going work your daughter to death with “let’s learn how to paint, sew, art fart this, and art fart that. Do not hire her (unless your daughter is into art at 8 months) – it sounds like this girl needs to learn to fail. You’ll be doing her a favor by not hiring her. It will be a good lesson in humility for her.
That’s crazy and I actually do think it would be incredibly nice of you to call and give her some advice on the whole cover letter thing.
“it sounds like this girl needs to learn to fail. You’ll be doing her a favor by not hiring her. It will be a good lesson in humility for her.”
Really? Geez, she may be not the right person for the babysitter, that’s Andy’s call. But I can guarantee you that having done all of what she says she has, she most certainly has already failed, probably multiple times.
She *perseveres*, and offers of her self. Pretty nice traits to have that cannot be trained.
That’s how I read it.
I was impressed by cover letter only by her accomplishments, of course it does not fit within the scope of the job. I don’t think we need to intentional fail, disregard or disappointment someone to teach them humility. Humility comes naturally when you lest expect it, that is what is great about it.
My take on this girls cover letter is that she is super excited to have a new opportunity to prove her work ethic. As a student I think she is doing what students are taught to do-make their skills sound transferrable to “on-the-job”. I can think back to the career class I had to take in high school (it was required in order to allow me to attend for a half a day my senior year and leave early to go to my job) and remember all the tips and tricks she shoved at us for making our resumes sound like they contained viable content. She obviously needs to here from a hiring perspective that no matter what you think you can do if the job clearly states minimum requirements do not apply for it, unless you have those minimum requirements. To learn that early on will be a game changer for her in future job searches (assuming she takes the advice).
Wow. I’m not sure whether I feel more overwhelmed by the cover letter itself, or the fact that you took the liberty to copy and paste someone’s entire cover letter on your website for the whole world to see.
“I don’t think she’s the right person to take care of my daughter but I feel like I need to give her a call.” Agreed. After the first paragraph, she failed. I only skimmed the rest but could tell that the rest was entirely irrelevant. That’s too bad. I think you should contact her with feedback. It would only serve her well, at least given your position in the matter.