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
