A Letter to Employers

I may start sending out with my resume. Forget the professional air. I'm going for straight-forward. Maybe it will at least make some employers curious.

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