Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Melissa Miller, and I am interested in a position
with your company.
My resume is not impressive. I will be the first to admit
that. I did not spend my college summers at internships. Instead, I worked. I
worked in childcare, food service, and recreation. For the last two years I
have worked as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble. While this may seem like a
low-level job anyone could be trained to do, I have learned a great deal about
the publishing industry; valuable information that I can apply to my pursuit in
the publishing world.
I do not have the 3-5 years of experience you are looking
for. I do not have a master’s degree because I cannot afford it at this time.
That is not to say I have not been working hard since graduating. While I have
not spent much time in an office, honing my skills at a computer, I have done a
few other things:
- I travelled with a theatre company.
- I learned to live and function on a very tight budget.
- I have read reference manuals and etymology books. (AP, MLA, Chicago Style. You name it; I've gone through them all.)
I know these will not make it onto a list of my
accomplishments, but they say more about me than my resume. My professional
work experience is minimal, but my drive to get a job done is exceptional. You
will probably skim through this and be tempted to put it at the top of the NO
pile. But please don’t. If you hire me I will not disappoint.
Sincerely,
Melissa Miller
