Dear would-be employer,
I know you get more people going for each job than you actually have up for grabs, so I thought I’d try something a bit different in the hope of standing out from that pesky crowd.
A month from today, my fixed-term contract is coming to an end. I’ve loved this job and am really rather sad that it’s coming to an end, but I know there’s something else out there for me. Something even bigger and better, I hope – possibly even with you as my new boss – so I thought I’d let you know about what I could bring to a workplace.
I won’t bore you with the fact that I’m an award winning multi-channel editor, journalist and blogger with a decade of experience in a raft of digital and print publications behind me – you can read all that stuff on my LinkedIn profile – so I thought, for now, you’d be interested in reading about the kind of person I am instead.
I make an awesome cup of tea – teabag out before milk in and only after a proper amount of steeping time; there’s no other way. I like a working environment where I can be creative and have a bit of a laugh with people, preferably with BBC 6 Music on in the background.
I’m also the father of two strong-willed little boys, so am no stranger to managing the expectations of key stakeholders and the importance of a disciplined approach to getting things done. And I’m not squeamish either. I don’t take myself too seriously and like to grow a silly moustache for Movember every year.
Despite the aforementioned awards – one for blogging, one for the Twitter presence of a well-known charity I worked for and two top ten places in lists of dad blogs if you must know – my career highlights are definitely not the kind you can readily place on your mantelpiece and lovingly gaze at.
Making my line manager dress up as a cat and hide behind a tree would definitely be one of them, as would putting my shorthand speed to the ultimate test while interviewing the legendary Sir Patrick Moore by a telephone with a broken speaker button.
Being on the front cover of a woodwork magazine, providing my opinion on organic beers and photographed demonstrating yoga poses while dressed like a lumberjack are also worthy of inclusion. Oh, and taking part in a world record attempt.
I can also make myself understood in French and German – and not in an ‘Allo ‘Allo! kind of way either – can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under four minutes and repair a washing machine if it has become blocked by a fridge magnet.
If you have something available with which I could put any of the above skills and personal qualities to use in, I’d be delighted to hear from you. I’ll also bring in cake on a regular basis.
Yours truly,
Tom
Comments
Arguably a tad too long, BUT, why not…. Far more interetsing than the ‘standard conventional’ format touted around by the ‘experts’
Ten out of ten for initiative – That alone, deserves an interview.
P.S. ……and if no one replies…Would you want to work with ’em anyway…?
Author
Thank you – I appreciate the feedback and, yes, a sense of humour in the workplace is an essential requirement for me as an employee!
The job’s yours Tom… whatever it is! If only it were in my gift too.
Author
Thanks Tim! You must need a PA for all your TV and radio bookings, mustn’t you? 😉
I’d employ you just for your rubiks cube skills 😉
Best of luck with the job hunting 🙂
Author
Cheers Tom! If nothing else comes up, I’ll just keep at it with the cube and see if I can become a pro at that. 😉
If I had a job to give you would definetly get first refusal!
Hope it works
Author
Thank you very much – I’ll carry your bags of free stuff at BritMums Live in return for a fiver. Deal?!
Personally I’d like to challenge you to a tea-making competition, as no-one has ever told me I make a bad cup of tea. Hmm. Maybe they’re all just too nice. Anyhow teabag out first is SO important. Good luck with finding a nice place to show off your skills 🙂
Author
Thank you. 🙂 Are you going to BritMums Live? If so, I accept your challenge! We can take over one of the refreshment stations and see who makes the best brew!
that fridge magnet trick is going to get you to the top my friend 😉
Author
Thanks Sarah! I do hope so. Fixing it by myself was a very satisfying experience, so you’re right – that has to be worth something to a potential employer somewhere!
You’re hired. I will pay you to entertain me by writing a blog. No, wait, you already do that for free!
Author
Thank you Judith! Glad it raised a smile. 🙂
What a fabulously different approach to advertising yourself to not only your current employer but potential employers too. Your a man of many skills and awards too by the sounds of things hope all works out well for you dude.
Author
Thank you! Well it was fun to write if nothing else – here’s hoping!
Admirable…but…you come across as being “wacky” (yoga, tea, Movember, dressing up), like almost everyone else, and that gets very tiresome indeed. I hope you get a job very soon, though
Author
Thanks for your feedback, Dave. I just thought it would be a slightly different approach to what is otherwise an arduous and stressful process. I wasn’t trying to sound eccentric, but don’t see a problem with doing so either. Unless you’re a recruiter I’ve applied to, in which case, yes, it made me sound like the kind of person who talks to strangers on the bus in an overly familiar fashion. 🙂
Good luck with your job search. I loved the paragraph about your career highlights!
Author
Thanks Jonathan. Glad my alternative CV was appreciated! 🙂
Great idea! I’d definitely employ you!
I love this 🙂
I wish I had the wit and intelligence to have done something similar in my own 18 month search for a job.
Excellent stuff!
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