My friend Erica is a Marketing Business Analyst.
For those of you that do not know what the entails, you are not alone. Marketing is like the CIA of the corporate world. The day to day responsibilities are so secretive, even marketing professionals do not know what they do. It is a little Dead Marketers Society, where they hide in caves, sip wine and determine how they can mislead the public with analytics, reports and high powered PowerPoint presentations. They plan has been executed with brilliance for hundreds of years.
She recently found her self back in the market and in search of the next great career adventure. Now Erica is an avid outdoors woman. Bikes, hikes, eats healthy, supports local farms and gets her feet wet or muddy quite often. She is the role model for healthy living. It made sense that Trek was one of her targeted organizations to woe.
The question that lingered on her mind was, “how do I make them understand that I was born to be a part of that culture?” Sure she could put biking and hiking in her interests category on her resume or even through out a few biking clubs/organizations to boot but that seems cliché and forced. Why not make this one competitive, topical and passionate.
That is just what Erica did. She reached deep inside her creative juices and let it all out with this cover letter:
I’m not writing you a cover letter.
Those are boring and nobody reads them, anyway. Instead, I’m providing you a brief background on why I’m looking to become a Trek-ie (who cares if the Star Trek people have already coined that one) along with my list of demands, should I accept your offer of employment.
I didn’t start out a Trek-ie. My first “real bike” was a Cannondale M450 steel frame Franck Roman (if you don’t know who that is, shame on you, and you’d better look him up because there will be a quiz) that I purchased while stationed in Augsburg, Germany, in 1995. I purchased my first road bike 15 years later – an Orbea Lobular, AKA the DreamCYCLE.
Since then, my friends have started to slowly convert me into a Trek-ie (and, my husband, I suppose, who has a Madone 5.0). Ok, maybe slowly is not really the word when the first Trek you purchase is a Project 1 Speed Concept 9.0, but hey, who is keeping track here? My most recent bike purchase was not a Trek, however. With all the 29ers out there, I still wanted 26’s on my mountain bike, so I ended up buying a used Gary Fisher. BRING BACK THE 26’s…!
So, enough of the background drivel – below are my list of demands, should I accept your offer of employment:
1. There will be no making fun of the DreamCYCLE. Even if she is aluminum/carbon, with the right rider, she can kick butt any day of the week.
2. When the Speed Concept is in the office, she will enjoy indoor, premium parking, and a wreath of flowers will be draped over her handle bars so that she always feels like she’s in the winner’s circle.
3. When you interview for the communications specialist position you have posted, I expect to have a vote on whether or not the chocolate cookies pass muster.
4. And, I will not actually interview for this position; instead, I challenge the hiring manager to a road race on the bike of his/her choice. I, of course, will be on the Speed Concept. If I win, I get the job. And, the hiring manager’s bike. 🙂 If I lose, I get the job anyway, and I get to keep my bike.
If you agree to these terms and conditions, I look forward to hearing from you at the number provided in my online application.
With tongue in cheek,
Erica ______
P.S. Don’t take my resume seriously; it’s all drivel, too.
There you have it. A cover letter that addresses:
- Cultural fit
- Passion
- Research on the company, products and brand
- A edgy first impression
- Confidence
- Persistence
If you do your research and find a place where you “fit”, let them know that.
Recruiterpoet Blog 
Great fun cover letter. A marketing person can get away with that, but not someone applying to a more buttoned up company or say applying to the finance department.
However, I hope she didn’t send this yet, because I found an error:
“…why I’m looking to become a Trek-ie (who cares if the Star Trek people have already coined that one) along my list of demands,…”
It should be: along WITH my list of demands.
I’m a certified proofreader and editor. I cannot stress enough that even if you’ve read your cover letter and resume a million times–have someone else look it over.
For those of you that do not know what **the** entails, ….
……**They** plan has been executed with brilliance for hundreds of years.
She recently found **her self** back in the market and in search of the next great career adventure. Now Erica is an avid **outdoors woman**. …. It made sense that Trek was one of her targeted organizations to **woe.**
Why not make this one competitive, topical and passionate?”
As compared, perhaps, to grammatical, spelled correctly and safe to send to the paste-up group?