Student Sends Great Cover Letter For Internship At Bank, And It's Now Going Viral On Wall Street

http://www.businessinsider.com/student-sends-great-cover-letter-...

The fact that so many banks want this kid for simply being honest or "blunt" should say a lot about how screwed up that whole process is. Not to be one of those people who criticizes the industry on a general level, but more specifically the culture surrounding recruitment. The kid was clever and props to him, but it just feels like something is wrong when we shit our pants for some kid who simply wrote the truth, and by his measure an average case of it too. Good on the kid, good on the banks for calling him up, bad on all of us for kissing asses I suppose.

I'm sorry, but I smell hoax.

Now that everybody knows about this, you're gonna see hundreds if not thousands of copycats sending out similar cover letters, and this tactic will not work again in the near future.

Glitch99 said:   I'm sorry, but I smell hoax.

Agreed it was poorly written and overly self deprecating. People send crap letters like this all the time, nothing special. Certainly no one with a near perfect GPA should be trashing that accomplishment or calling their school mediocre. I wouldn't be surprised if some HR subhuman did like it though, such is my level of disregard for them.

I've received blunt cover letters before, so there is nothing particularly impressive about writing one. This is well written and has a good balance between being blunt and providing some good information that recruiters cared about. You have to be careful as to not come across as too casual, since successful people in the business world must frequently navigate in-office politics with finesse. Straight shooters typically only make it if they have a decisive technical advantage.

Promising letter, then he misspelled crap. You can't hire someone who misspells crap.

I used to be a banker at a BB firm and this is exactly the crap that the hiring manager would like. Don't get me wrong, it's a great grind career with a lot of money but don't pretend people in banking need perfect applicants and require the typical rounds and rounds of interviews/butt sucking.

The kid is in school with a near perfect GPA so that's a reason for not having a lot of experience. Honest and candid. I don't see why. Yes I'm familiar with the rounds and rounds of interviews super saturday and stuff like that but there is ALWAYS exceptions. Sometimes it's refreshing to see something new hoax or not. v023985 said:   I work in investment banking, so I was forwarded this letter earlier this week when it was first going around. Just because he is getting called by banks, its only for a phone screen and to see how the kid stacks up to other prospective candidates. Everyone seems to be making such a big deal (not only here, but on other websites as well) about how this means how stupid hiring is or the people on wall street don't know whats going on, etc. Most of you don't know how the recruiting process works within financial services, nor do you understand that this letter is being forwarded around by junior level employees (analyst, associate, VP) who find it amusing more than anything else. The kid knew he was a long shot, so thought he would try something different, and he was able to get someone's attention. At this point, more than he had hoped, but at least he didn't submit the same, boring cover letter that everyone else did. I liked it.

I'm a bitter banker, so not defending my colleagues, but its annoying when people comment about stuff they know nothing about.

v023985 said:   I work in investment banking, so I was forwarded this letter earlier this week when it was first going around. Just because he is getting called by banks, its only for a phone screen and to see how the kid stacks up to other prospective candidates. Everyone seems to be making such a big deal (not only here, but on other websites as well) about how this means how stupid hiring is or the people on wall street don't know whats going on, etc. Most of you don't know how the recruiting process works within financial services, nor do you understand that this letter is being forwarded around by junior level employees (analyst, associate, VP) who find it amusing more than anything else. The kid knew he was a long shot, so thought he would try something different, and he was able to get someone's attention. At this point, more than he had hoped, but at least he didn't submit the same, boring cover letter that everyone else did. I liked it.

I'm a bitter banker, so not defending my colleagues, but its annoying when people comment about stuff they know nothing about.

and it's annoying when people FEEL as though they are elite.

I tried something similar in an interview once:

CFO: What motivates you?

Me: Money. I can tell you all the candy coated reasons that most people give you. But at the end of the day, it's all about money.

CFO: I appreciate your candor.

Didn't get the job. Weird.

chibimike said:   Promising letter, then he misspelled crap. You can't hire someone who misspells crap.

It appears crapp is in blue, which means it was edited in Outlook as part of a forward/reply. I think the person who gave this to someone, edited it and took out the word "shit" and purposely misspelled crap. That is my theory. I really think this guy put the word "shit" in his cover letter, lol.

steve1jr said:   Disappointed..I thought it was going to be a real rant.
'You are part of an industry that embraces excessive risk knowing taxpayers will bail you out if things go wrong, now please take me on an an intern!'

Agree. I don't see anything so special about this letter - a bit more direct or honest than an average cover letter, but nothing worth "wow" about it. And i wouldn't call it "hilarious!"

He should get a pat on his back for thinking outside the box. At a minimum, atleast get him an interview or a foot inside the door.

jnheinz said:   chibimike said:   Promising letter, then he misspelled crap. You can't hire someone who misspells crap.
It appears crapp is in blue, which means it was edited in Outlook as part of a forward/reply. I think the person who gave this to someone, edited it and took out the word "shit" and purposely misspelled crap. That is my theory. I really think this guy put the word "shit" in his cover letter, lol.Maybe to avoid some sort of filter catching or blocking the email.