Covering Myself

As a recent, jobless graduate I have begun the tedious task of writing cover letters. It is almost replacing the projects and papers I had to write as an undergrad but not quite. The topics aren't as varied and the content not as interesting, mainly because the topic I have to write on is me. And what do I write about myself meeting the qualifications of the post that others applying have not also written?

Through out elementary and high school the teachers try and help you blend into the pack as much as possible. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to debate and would have to be an entirely different blog post. But they try and make you conform, be quiet, respect your elders, learn your lessons, answer correctly and ignore questions they don't have answers to. C'est la vie. But what happens to people who have come through this system and then need to stand out from the 9.1% of other unemployed people in this country?

I have no answer to this. I've always stood out in a crowd. At 5'9", (probably closer to 6' as I frequently wear heels), gangly and loud, I've never been the quiet wallflower. I've always pressed questions on teachers and written things my way, which is perhaps why I am having such issues on the cover letters. I want to write about all the great things I've seen and done that relate to this job posting. How I would like to do things, what I could learn from this organization, why I would like to live in that city etc. Unfortunately for me they frown upon 5+ page cover letters. So I must condense myself to fit one page of information while also explaining to the company why I would like to work for them and what we can do to help each other. UUUUGH! My personality does not like this. It feels it is too big to fit upon one page! Yes, I'm referring to my personality in third person.

It's like a resume; after 5 years of work experience, how do you get it all on one page? How do you get all of your feelings and ideas about this job post and yourself across to these people, conform to their standards and then still have a catch phrase that makes you stand out?

I believe it is this conundrum which forces people in to corners, and wills them to bs their way through the qualifications. I don't like this. Because if I have to bs, inevitably I will slip up and tell on myself. And while I'm sure not all people fall to this trap and some people are honest or don't need to bs to sound that good then where does this leave me? Should I bs like my peers and raise myself up? Or should I tell the truth and hope that I am good enough? Right now I'm going for the second of the two. But let me tell you it isn't easy. Writing individualized cover letters is so much time. I swear, the companies reading them (if they do actually read them), would spend their time better by just calling up the candidates and giving them 5 minutes to explain why they want the job. It would probably be more informative than any glossed over, rewritten cover letter.

*Sigh* but as this isn't going to change any time soon, I suppose it is back to the dreary task of trying to describe myself, ambitions and contributions in 700 words or less.