(no subject)

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Saw this cover letter at work - the dude's applying for one of our remote repair tech positions.

Cover Letter:

My name is [Big Idiot]. I am 26 yrs old. I know my resume isn't so great. I believe you shouldn't judge a person just by looking at his/her resume. If you think about it, if a person has all the computer certifications or degrees, why would he/she bother applying in the first place when he/she bother applying in the first place when he/she should already have a pc job which he/she feels comfortable doing for living? I am applying because I want to get into the computer field doing this line of work for living instead of just doing it on the side as a hobby. If I wanted, I could have gotten my CompTia A+ 2003, Server+, Network+, MCP, MCSA, and MCSE certifications. However, there are hardly any pc jobs out where I live. Even if there were, they required proof of experience working for some employer for certain amoutn of years. That's the problem. I don't have any friends who work in the computer industry who can just pull me in. That's the reason I didn't bother taking the exams for the certifications because I will be bull-shit with at the end. Especially when I am asian myself. People look down at me thinking I am not working enough that's why they turn me down. There do you think people be getting most of their merchandises from? USA? Of course not; most are imported from China, Japan, Korean, etc.

I know the purpose of resumes is so that employers can screen out the ones they want and rid of the ones they don't feel qualified enough. I guess this world is all about impressing others huh? Or should I say lying on resumes to impress employers? I am not full of shit like other peoples. I know the main question employers ask: "Why should I hire you over others for the position?" I believe that if you give me that chance, I can prove myself beyond worthy. I know computers inside and out. I know all the major manufacturers for CPUs (Intel, AMD), motherboards (Asus, Abit, Gigabyte, etc), memories (Kingston, Corsair, Geil, etc). I know everything there is at the hardware and software level. What's the term for someone who knows too much about computers but without the credentials to prove it? A HACKER of course, but I conside myself a white-hat hacker not a black-hat one who does damages.

I'm not trying to brag to anyone. I am just proving that I am way qualified enough; hoping that there is actually someone out there who cares and not discriminate because of one's race, age group, education, or work history.

Comments

[jon787.livejournal.com]

I am slightly sympathetic to his problem, just not his "solution". I'm having trouble finding an entry level programmer position around where I live. I'm just not sick of it enough to write that kind of rant in my cover letter yet.

I have 3 years of experience doing tech support and system administration, but that doesn't mean shit when I'm trying to get a programming job. Maybe having software with my name on it on packetstormsecurity.org isn't helping?

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Where do you live?

Also, tailor your resume to show off your programming skills. Tech support is good, but not necessarily relevant to the job you're wanting to get. Have you done a lot of it in your spare time?

[gilmoure.livejournal.com]

In the last 20 years, I've got every job by knowing someone where I ended up working. Even though, in the last case, it was a total stranger posting about a job opening at his work, because we were both in the SCA, he put in a word for me, and we had never met, just emailed. As nice as it would be to be hired strictly on personal merit, seems who you know is more important.

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

lol, i would be sympathetic, IF he had the basics of spelling, grammar, and punctuation down on his cover letter to get a JOB.

because he didn't, plus he's using obscenities in a letter to a potential employer, he's obviously a grade A idiot/whacko/noob.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grimtales_/]

They have a point about certs though.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Yes, well, but getting the certs show *some* dedication to the field you are in.

[jecook]

That cover letter would have had his resume dumped in my round file, without even a look. If he's going to rant like that in a COVER LETTER, what type of employee is he going to make?

Now, we all know that certs are essentially useless, but it does take the place of a certain amount of experience, and shows that you have at least the desire to try to learn the skillset and pick up the knowledge.

I don't know ahy he's trying to play the race card: most employers I've dealt with are EEO, and they either do not or can not discriminate based on race, age, etc.

If he had a *proper* cover letter, and his resume passed my muster, I'd run him through a quick diagnositc session in a lab area, to see if he can think on his feet and diagnose stuff on the fly sight unseen. But that's just me.

[jecook]

FWIW, the employer I'm about to start with has a note on their application that states that they DO discriminate based on certain parameters regarding decendancy. I found this mildly amusing.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

He'd sit back, and complain about *everything* and expect a raise handed to him on a silver platter, that's what type of employee he'd be.

We get resumes in all the time where the people have *no* tech experience, but they have their A+, Net+, whatnot - so we consider them.

I believe it's illegal in every state here to discriminate based on age, gender, whatnot.

His resume, btw, was horrid. Poor formating, no substance. He put on there that for 2 years, he built his own PCs, and such.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Thing is, at my job, for the position he was applying for - we like certifications, yes, it shows a certain amount of, hm, dedication? to that field, but as long as they list building PCs/etc on their resume, we'll consider them.

[enik.livejournal.com]

That was a cover letter? The grammar is horrible and you should never cuss in a cover letter. It hurt just to read it.

I have so many cover letters as I am moving to Chicago from Oregon. My fiancé would KILL me if I sent a single one out without her correcting it first.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yeah, that's what I tell everyone - PROOFREAD. Let someone else look at it!

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Let me see if I can sum that up for you:

My resume sucks. But that's just because I'm too lazy to take the cert classes all potential employers want, so I've never been able to get a job. Come to think of it, I have no proof of any kind that I'd be a good hire, but you shouldn't hire people based on their education or work history - those don't mean anything. You should trust me because I know the word "Asus".

PS. I'm totally not a hacker.

PPS. I MADE YOUR MOTHERBOARD, BITCHES!

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Haha.

Oh, don't forget, he's Asian.

[ladynisa.livejournal.com]

Wow, can we say jackass whom everyone will laugh at??? I'm sorry, but you don't sit there and make excuses for yourself in a COVER LETTER, much less try to GUILT someone into hiring you. Sounds like this guy needs a dose of real life...

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Yeah. A cover letter is supposed to sell your strong points - it's not a ranting forum to complain about your pathetic life.

Funny thing is, the person who I replaced kept this resume on file - no idea why.

[dazzedelf.livejournal.com]

I'd email him back and tell him you forward his resume to McDonalds. With that type of cover letter, he seems to be the perfect candidate for dropping fries in a bin.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

*snickers*

[ihateemo.livejournal.com]

I think I can top that cover letter.

This guy who was just employed as an L1 (dial-up tech support) ALSO put in his resume for a programming job. He had no work experience, no college degree and no demonstrable work experience in the field.

His cover letter said, "I know I have no real experience, but it's hard for me to prove myself when I know I'm just better than everyone else."

Our sysadmin manager had a good laugh at that and chucked it in the bin. So dial-up support it is! (The guy's a complete mouth-breather by the way.)

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

*hahah*

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Ahem. That's not ALWAYS true, you know.

The company I work for has a dedicated recruiting department (no HR at all - supes handle all that, and there's a Benefits dept as well). We get resumes in, find the ad they were replying to, and send it to the person handling that trip (all my positions are remote - New York, South Carolina, etc). *I* determine if they are good or not, because the only jobs I do are technical jobs (since I have some technical background). I know what to look for - certifications, experience, and when someone is bullshiting me.

Unfortunately, I have to let some of the bullshit resumes through, but they close themselves out when I do a phone interview. No one gets past me :D

At my job, we don't care if someone has the experience, or even the certs - they just need to tell us in their resume that they have the desire to do it, and they have done it in a hobby. After that, I interview them over the phone, get a feel for their experience, desire, etc. Then they get some testing to show how fast/well they would learn everything (we have a 5 week training program), and then they get a basic PC/LAN test. If everything's good, the dept interviews, and if the dept likes 'em, they get hired. We're a bit more thorough than most companies.

[gilmoure.livejournal.com]

Most places I've worked, they get a tonne of applicants with tech skills. What a good manager is looking for is someone who isn't a flake, who shows themselves to be responsible, fairly socially integrated and a team player. Managers hate dealing with prima donna's and loners, who don't get along with others.

That's one of the things I've had to work really hard at in interviews; how to come across as fairly normal and friendly, when in truth, I prefer to work on computers as they aren't people. Now that I have my latest job, the boss doesn't mind that I'm not one of the social butterflies, off taking breaks and talking over cube walls. I'm perfectly happy sitting at my desk, waiting for the next problem to come up. Mah stats are to dah fo'!

[blossomingfire.livejournal.com]

Dear Asian guy with chip on shoulder with a minor in entitlement bitch:

www.livejournal.com or www.myspace.com

Thanks,
Company who's not going to hire an asshat.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, just remembering - the first official tech job I had was a result of me being employed as a junior paper shuffler in one office of a nationwide employer, and being well-known as the only person (apart from the resident tech) who could program a VCR.

When the tech left, I applied and got the job. I later learned that no-one else applied, which probably gives you some idea of how the job was perceived. I then expanded the part-time job into a full-time one simply by detailing all the things people wanted me to fix and handing it to the office manager. The week after, I automated 90% of it and spent the next couple of months fiddling with the macro engine on the major in-house application.

Eventually, I turned that half-tech, half-admin job into a position in a genuine TS team in another department, and then traded back up to the national helpdesk in the original department.

The point, which I kind of drifted away from, was that even though I've been in the techsupport business one way or another for ten years and at least six positions, I never got them 'cold', but always because I either had a similar job already, or was in the same office doing a non-tech job.

My advice - find a large employer (or one that has a lot of IT) with the world's worst helpdesk. Yes, worst. Their turnover will be at a frightening rate and new positions will always be opening up. Get a menial paper-pushing job as physically close to the helpdesk location as possible and wait for your chance. Once you're in "the biz", as it were, it's a LOT easier to transfer around within the industry.

Alternatively, look for employers who are going through sudden growth spurts and send a pre-emptive resumé strike to their HR group and helpdesk managers.

A third option is to apply for admin/liaison work for an IT vendor large enough to assign low-paid reps to permanently sit at desks in their larger clients' buildings. These are usually large hardware or services companies. Our own helpdesk has recruited half a dozen of these reps from their organisations to ours, purely because (a) our red tape is enormously complex, and (b) it's a lot easier to recruit people who have already picked it up and know our management, our jargon, and where the break room is. Hell, we recruited the waitress from the deli across the road - not because she had a computer background, but because she was a sharp cookie and we all knew her. (It helped that she utterly aced the trainee IT tests within about four weeks.)

As for cold-recruiting, it really does help to personally know the people who are looking for a new tech (especially in smaller organisations). Failing that, have a friend or family member personally know whoever will be doing the hiring. Low-level tech skill isn't rare, there's a huge pool of it to draw from. Employers are just trying to make sure they're hiring someone everyone can work with, and if they already know them outside of work, that's a massive shortcut.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

I don't need the advice though ;) That's not my cover letter. My resume & cover letter were rather spiffy and done in something other than Arial or Times New Roman.

I did the crappy-helpdesk thing, and that's how I ended up where I am. I worked my ass off, showed I was good, and then went on to a better position. When I moved, I used that to get me my nice, cushy salaried job :D

[bibliophile0614.livejournal.com]

Wow. Can I repost this over at grammar_nazis?

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Sure ^_^

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

If I wanted, I could have gotten my CompTia A+ 2003, Server+, Network+, MCP, MCSA, and MCSE certifications.

That right there tells me this twit has Rock Star Syndrome. Good for you skippy, you know the names of a few certs but you can't be bothered to get them? One suspects that he feels merely knowing about them means he's earned the equivalent in skills.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

And he's also pulling the Race Card. Which I hate.

Honestly? I never pay attention to a person's name unless I'm calling them. So I don't care if your name is Shi'thead, Cyphilis, Jim Bob, or Bob Hope - that's irrelevant. I pay attention to your resume.

[harry-whodunnit.livejournal.com]

Back when I was email support for the local equivalent of AOL I once got a cover letter I wish I'd kept. It was from a freak who'd been mailbombing us for months.

It started out with a rant about our crappy service and and segued into "you should hire me so customers don't have to put up with incompetent fucks like you". No actual CV enclosed. Then it finished by demanding that the CEO contact him about his application within two hours or we were "in great danger".

I replied to point out that the company already had a restraining order against him, and binned it.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

*snicker* Idiot.