Applying myself

Good morning and welcome yet again to another Monday edition of UOPTA. This is a special Monday, I must admit, because today was my dating anniversary with my lovely wife back when she was just my lovely girlfriend. We had been dating for a long time when we got married, and it bothered me a little to have to start our counting over again. I'd always try to let people know that so they didn't assume we were just some inexperienced couple who married on a whim. "Well, technically we've only been married for..." Fortunately, our marriage number keeps getting higher so that won't be an issue for long at all. Disirregardless, Happy Old Anniversary, honey.

Let's get to a story, now shall we? This past Saturday, it was my good friend Suzanne's birthday. She currently holds the position at UC Santa Barbara that I did for three years before her (Assistant Director of Orientation Programs). It's a great job and I was thoroughly pleased to see someone I knew and trusted to take over for me when I left. That's not what today is about, but rather a loosely-related opening thought. Sorry if I misled any of you. To make it up, I shall attempt a transition sentence that makes t seem like I'd planned this all along: Suzanne's application and interview process started after I left UCSB, but I have a feeling it didn't go quite like mine.

When I found out that the Assistant Director position was opening up, I had the biggest "Oh my God that would be sooooo cool" moment of my life. I had worked for Orientation for two years as a staff member and a student supervisor, and I loved the program. The thought of being a part of it year-round, training and working with new student staffs, and helping thousands of parents and incoming students each year made me giddy with anticipation.

However, when the application process officially started, I found myself in a little bit of a tough spot. You see, having worked both there and in other positions on campus for years already, I was going to be interviewed almost exclusively by people I already knew (and knew well). Therefore, my standard cover letter and resume would have been very stuffy and much more formal than my existing relationships with these people warranted. Additionally, the position I held at that time was literally less than one hundred feet from the Orientation office, so I saw those people every day and exchanged casual pleasantries.

I sat down and hammered a few versions out, but nothing sounded like I wanted it to. I knew how it "should" be, but it just seemed so forced to be coming from me. And then, an idea popped into my head. "Uh, I don't know if I can do that," I immediately told myself. "Just try it out, see how it works, and go from there," I countered. The idea was as follows: I was to start with a little paragraph formally stating the position for which I was applying. I would then say something along the lines of, "Rather than simply reiterating the experience listed on my resume, I would like to use a format that will illustrate my ability to be creative within an established structure. Below, please find an Elizabethan sonnet that explains why I am the right choice for this position."

I then wrote a sonnet in very plain language stating the things that would've been in a standard cover letter. I acknowledged my previous experience with the program, the jobs I'd held since then, and the way those positions prepared me for this next step. I added a sentence at the end tying it together with the structure of the position requiring fresh and new ideas, and then something about how I looked forward to an interview and to please contact me with any questions. I read it over several times but still couldn't decide if the idea was great or horrible, so I showed it to my colleague and friend Regina for her opinion. After realizing what I had handed her, she looked up at me with her mouth agape before going back to the paper. I couldn't decide if that meant, "What a marvelous idea!" or "You arrogant bastard!" When she finished reading, she looked back up and said, "It's perfect, and no one else would dare to pull that off."

After a little more encouragement and several "Are you sure?" questions from my end, I turned in my application with that cover letter. After two weeks, a phone interview, and a three-part in person interview, I got the call from Human Resources offering me the job. After happily accepting and discussing the salary and starting date, I thanked her for the call. "You're very welcome," the woman replied. "And by the way, we all loved your cover letter."

I took a risk and it paid off. The thing is, it was a very low-risk/high-reward situation that afforded me the luxury of messing around a little. Knowing the interviewers like I did, I feel like it would've taken some off-color remarks about their family members or racial epithets to not be granted a first interview. Therefore, I made the most of my advantage to stand out while everyone else followed the unofficial rules.

Not every job application I've submitted has turned out that glorious. In fact, some have been downright disastrous and never materialized into first interviews. I think I'll write about some of those tomorrow as well as stories from other people's interviews that I know of. Sound good? And now, the pun I've been waiting all post to use: There must be fifty ways to weave your cover.

Have a great Monday, everyone, and remember to email ptklein@gmail.com with anything about anything.