Here's the cover letter I wish I could write.
Dear Future Employer,
There are some things you should know about me that my resume cannot begin to explain.
EDUCATION: My parents paid for one year toward my bachelor's degree. I paid for the rest through student loans that I would probably still be paying off were it not for the substantial inheritance we received from my husband's mother. I worked a work-study job every day that I could so I would have money to travel home and for other expenses. I went to graduate school in West Virginia even though I had never even visited there because that was the college I found that offered me a graduate assistantship, eliminating the cost of tuition. It meant, however, that I would work on-campus four hours a day. A loan allowed me to take an unpaid internship one summer. I worked hard for my education as I have worked hard since I was a child, working for my dad on the family farm.
WRITER: Most of my writing work has been unpaid. I have a portfolio filled with articles published while I was in school. I have written many articles, tributes, prayers, and a few short stories. I worked for about a year as a Features Reporter for an inner city newspaper in Denver, Colorado. I helped "typeset" the stories in proper format on my home computer, an early Macintosh Classic. I learned how to do this myself as everything prior to this time had been done on my Smith-Corona. I have always written. This means I have many years of experience, much more than a resume can adequately represent. I have tried to keep up with technology. I am always eager to learn.
Here is something harder to explain. I was hired to be a journalist at a newspaper in Gunnison, Colorado. The editor hired me over the phone after a couple of conversations! One of the major questions he said would be a deciding factor was whether or not I would be able to live in a mountain town comfortably, after the road connecting it to civilization would be closed for the winter. "Yes!," I cheerfully answered him, "I am from Michigan. I have been snowed in for weeks!" No sooner had I accepted his invitation did my friend who was going to drive me up there back out. Then there was a blizzard. I checked into bus transportation and only one bus ran up there a day. I had no money. I had nowhere to stay. I had no transportation . . . except this one guy I knew from church.
That guy got out his maps and we planned the trip. There was, however, something he wanted to do more than take me to the mountains so I could be a journalist. He wanted to marry me. I was 26 and already an old-maid by the standards of my very small hometown. If I took the job, would I one day marry a mountain man? Or would I be the spinster newswoman eventually editing the newspaper, driving a jeep home to my one-bedroom apartment where my dog, my only companion, awaited me.
Here's another thing. I knew if I married the guy I would have children with the guy. In my mind marriage and children were an inseparable reality. No marriage, no children. But put a ring on it and we may as well move to the 3-bedroom ranch and set up the nursery. I never thought I could do it all.
As soon as we returned from the honeymoon, life as I knew it changed forever. I could no longer apply for jobs in different places. I now lived in a house with a spouse who had a job that made more money than the vast assortment of dead-end jobs I would now have. I would doubt my abilities and wonder why I had worked so hard to get an education when I would walk into office after office filled with people who had no idea what I'm capable of accomplishing. Or what I had been through so far.
But then I turned 30 and decided I was ready to have a baby. By this time my husband was ready, too. The next thing I know I am wearing fashionable maternity clothing to the long-term temp job at the law firm where I was editing coded documents and actually enjoying it. I remember the day I closed up the office. I was probably the last one to leave since my co-workers had a baby shower for me and I was gathering up the baby booties, cards, and what was left of the huge chocolate chip cookie. I wondered if the trip down the elevator was my last one. I found out about a permanent job I had a great chance of being hired for but as a first time mom-to-be was nervous about daycare and thought it would be better if I stayed home, thus ending my career.
I would try to continue a typing service out of the home for seminary students primarily and soon discovered that trying to work around the schedule of a baby was not conducive to meeting deadlines. I would face unbelievable loneliness as I rocked my baby and took long walks with the dog. Work had become such a natural part of my life for so long it was awkward wearing sweats and not having anything pressing to do other than changing diapers and fixing bottles after breastfeeding failed.
One of the paralegals I had done research with called me one day inviting me to a near-by city to do similar work as before, and though I was absolutely wanting to go, could not make it work out with transportation and childcare. We would then move from Colorado to Michigan and then to North Carolina leaving behind every connection for work I ever had.
By the time we had two children and I was able to work again, there was an opportunity for me to take a paralegal's position at the law firm where I was then working, just up until I got what I thought was the flu. It turned out to be my third child. Another possible career had blown away like a puff of smoke. And I was convinced with three children that I would never work again.
TEACHER: It was because I had the third child I realized I needed to be the one who could leave work to take kids to the doctor, pick them up early for special practices, take time off to go to their assemblies, etc. that I needed a mom job. I became a preschool teacher. (Please refer to my blog, I AM NOT A TEACHER for more information if you require some.) Working as a teacher did not mean I stopped being a writer. It never meant that.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: These are the type of jobs writers get so they can pay their bills. Journalists make great secretaries. We know how to type fast and accurately. We can construct sentences that convey information effectively. We are curious types who enjoy the challenge of a diverse workplace. We do not like to be treated as though we are failed writers. We are not. We just plain would like to eat some dinner. In order to do that, WE NEED TO GET PAID!
LEADER: I personally believe my leadership activity is far more impressive than most of my paid work. Being asked to serve on a Board of Directors and making it to every meeting over a period of three years is no small feat. It takes dedication and commitment. Taking on the responsibilities of church leadership requires a lot more time than one may think, especially if one becomes Clerk and must attend every meeting, take minutes, type out the minutes, submit them, and then make corrections as needed in order for approval by the church's governing body. The minutes must be as accurate as the documents I used to type for the attorney I worked for when I found out I was in a delicate condition. If there was an error, the document would have to be re-done as it would not be admissible in court. Though perfectionism is supposedly frowned upon as a character trait, in my experience it has been expected.
QUALIFICATIONS: When I say I am committed to accuracy, it is because of the leadership and administrative experiences mentioned previously. The self-motivation I refer to has been a part of my life since I was a student always striving to get the best grades possible. I am somewhat of a loner and can work alone happily. I can also get along with most people. Being creative and resourceful is what I have learned along the way. Creativity in financing a life with three children and a teacher husband has given me many opportunities to improve my communication skills as I have wheeled and dealed my way through payment plans and promises. Being resourceful is all I have ever known. As a result I am the kind of employee who will not waste your supplies or your time. I will endeavor to reduce, reuse and recycle. I will assume you want me to treat your resources like I do my own: with great care, stretching their usefulness as far as they will go. I will choose quality over quantity. It lasts.
My resume lists 15 years of teaching a preschool curriculum and a couple of one-year office jobs. The rest is unpaid writing and leadership roles. It has the appearance of a stay-at-home mom who will not necessarily show a whole lot of initiative because maybe she does not have enough professional experience, and yet, motherhood has taught me more about managing an organization than anything ever could. I have multi-tasked through soccer, track, and band concert scheduling always aware of what exists in the pantry and the various combinations of ingredients available in the refrigerator since dinner must happen in some form at some time. Endless pieces of uniforms that have to be ready for the next event, along with continual communication as to who will drive whom where became a masterpiece in choreography. Nothing has ever been able to get between me and the needs of my children and this focus, honed over years of cheering on a bunch of boys, has created in me a fierceness I never knew existed. I have seen the inside of an emergency room more than once. I have what it takes to endure anything, including what is required for me to handle in the workplace.
Maybe the people I have spent my time supporting can say who I am through their lives. I helped my husband obtain his teaching certification and two master's degrees. We have been married 28 years. My oldest son graduated from college with a degree in economics and months later landed a great job in his field. My middle son is half-way through a top-rated music program degree, already thinking about graduate school. My youngest son, though not particularly thrilled with high school, is smart and a great athlete. He has taught himself how to do some cooking and does not hesitate to help those in need. All of these guys know they are loved. They know buying stuff isn't as important as having experiences. They know they can bring any friend home at any time and there will always be more room at the table and enough food to share.
Considering all this, I seek employment. To improve your organization, I am your next best choice.
Sincerely yours,
Mary Ellen Shores
Dear Future Employer,
There are some things you should know about me that my resume cannot begin to explain.
EDUCATION: My parents paid for one year toward my bachelor's degree. I paid for the rest through student loans that I would probably still be paying off were it not for the substantial inheritance we received from my husband's mother. I worked a work-study job every day that I could so I would have money to travel home and for other expenses. I went to graduate school in West Virginia even though I had never even visited there because that was the college I found that offered me a graduate assistantship, eliminating the cost of tuition. It meant, however, that I would work on-campus four hours a day. A loan allowed me to take an unpaid internship one summer. I worked hard for my education as I have worked hard since I was a child, working for my dad on the family farm.
WRITER: Most of my writing work has been unpaid. I have a portfolio filled with articles published while I was in school. I have written many articles, tributes, prayers, and a few short stories. I worked for about a year as a Features Reporter for an inner city newspaper in Denver, Colorado. I helped "typeset" the stories in proper format on my home computer, an early Macintosh Classic. I learned how to do this myself as everything prior to this time had been done on my Smith-Corona. I have always written. This means I have many years of experience, much more than a resume can adequately represent. I have tried to keep up with technology. I am always eager to learn.
Here is something harder to explain. I was hired to be a journalist at a newspaper in Gunnison, Colorado. The editor hired me over the phone after a couple of conversations! One of the major questions he said would be a deciding factor was whether or not I would be able to live in a mountain town comfortably, after the road connecting it to civilization would be closed for the winter. "Yes!," I cheerfully answered him, "I am from Michigan. I have been snowed in for weeks!" No sooner had I accepted his invitation did my friend who was going to drive me up there back out. Then there was a blizzard. I checked into bus transportation and only one bus ran up there a day. I had no money. I had nowhere to stay. I had no transportation . . . except this one guy I knew from church.
That guy got out his maps and we planned the trip. There was, however, something he wanted to do more than take me to the mountains so I could be a journalist. He wanted to marry me. I was 26 and already an old-maid by the standards of my very small hometown. If I took the job, would I one day marry a mountain man? Or would I be the spinster newswoman eventually editing the newspaper, driving a jeep home to my one-bedroom apartment where my dog, my only companion, awaited me.
Here's another thing. I knew if I married the guy I would have children with the guy. In my mind marriage and children were an inseparable reality. No marriage, no children. But put a ring on it and we may as well move to the 3-bedroom ranch and set up the nursery. I never thought I could do it all.
As soon as we returned from the honeymoon, life as I knew it changed forever. I could no longer apply for jobs in different places. I now lived in a house with a spouse who had a job that made more money than the vast assortment of dead-end jobs I would now have. I would doubt my abilities and wonder why I had worked so hard to get an education when I would walk into office after office filled with people who had no idea what I'm capable of accomplishing. Or what I had been through so far.
But then I turned 30 and decided I was ready to have a baby. By this time my husband was ready, too. The next thing I know I am wearing fashionable maternity clothing to the long-term temp job at the law firm where I was editing coded documents and actually enjoying it. I remember the day I closed up the office. I was probably the last one to leave since my co-workers had a baby shower for me and I was gathering up the baby booties, cards, and what was left of the huge chocolate chip cookie. I wondered if the trip down the elevator was my last one. I found out about a permanent job I had a great chance of being hired for but as a first time mom-to-be was nervous about daycare and thought it would be better if I stayed home, thus ending my career.
I would try to continue a typing service out of the home for seminary students primarily and soon discovered that trying to work around the schedule of a baby was not conducive to meeting deadlines. I would face unbelievable loneliness as I rocked my baby and took long walks with the dog. Work had become such a natural part of my life for so long it was awkward wearing sweats and not having anything pressing to do other than changing diapers and fixing bottles after breastfeeding failed.
One of the paralegals I had done research with called me one day inviting me to a near-by city to do similar work as before, and though I was absolutely wanting to go, could not make it work out with transportation and childcare. We would then move from Colorado to Michigan and then to North Carolina leaving behind every connection for work I ever had.
By the time we had two children and I was able to work again, there was an opportunity for me to take a paralegal's position at the law firm where I was then working, just up until I got what I thought was the flu. It turned out to be my third child. Another possible career had blown away like a puff of smoke. And I was convinced with three children that I would never work again.
TEACHER: It was because I had the third child I realized I needed to be the one who could leave work to take kids to the doctor, pick them up early for special practices, take time off to go to their assemblies, etc. that I needed a mom job. I became a preschool teacher. (Please refer to my blog, I AM NOT A TEACHER for more information if you require some.) Working as a teacher did not mean I stopped being a writer. It never meant that.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: These are the type of jobs writers get so they can pay their bills. Journalists make great secretaries. We know how to type fast and accurately. We can construct sentences that convey information effectively. We are curious types who enjoy the challenge of a diverse workplace. We do not like to be treated as though we are failed writers. We are not. We just plain would like to eat some dinner. In order to do that, WE NEED TO GET PAID!
LEADER: I personally believe my leadership activity is far more impressive than most of my paid work. Being asked to serve on a Board of Directors and making it to every meeting over a period of three years is no small feat. It takes dedication and commitment. Taking on the responsibilities of church leadership requires a lot more time than one may think, especially if one becomes Clerk and must attend every meeting, take minutes, type out the minutes, submit them, and then make corrections as needed in order for approval by the church's governing body. The minutes must be as accurate as the documents I used to type for the attorney I worked for when I found out I was in a delicate condition. If there was an error, the document would have to be re-done as it would not be admissible in court. Though perfectionism is supposedly frowned upon as a character trait, in my experience it has been expected.
QUALIFICATIONS: When I say I am committed to accuracy, it is because of the leadership and administrative experiences mentioned previously. The self-motivation I refer to has been a part of my life since I was a student always striving to get the best grades possible. I am somewhat of a loner and can work alone happily. I can also get along with most people. Being creative and resourceful is what I have learned along the way. Creativity in financing a life with three children and a teacher husband has given me many opportunities to improve my communication skills as I have wheeled and dealed my way through payment plans and promises. Being resourceful is all I have ever known. As a result I am the kind of employee who will not waste your supplies or your time. I will endeavor to reduce, reuse and recycle. I will assume you want me to treat your resources like I do my own: with great care, stretching their usefulness as far as they will go. I will choose quality over quantity. It lasts.
My resume lists 15 years of teaching a preschool curriculum and a couple of one-year office jobs. The rest is unpaid writing and leadership roles. It has the appearance of a stay-at-home mom who will not necessarily show a whole lot of initiative because maybe she does not have enough professional experience, and yet, motherhood has taught me more about managing an organization than anything ever could. I have multi-tasked through soccer, track, and band concert scheduling always aware of what exists in the pantry and the various combinations of ingredients available in the refrigerator since dinner must happen in some form at some time. Endless pieces of uniforms that have to be ready for the next event, along with continual communication as to who will drive whom where became a masterpiece in choreography. Nothing has ever been able to get between me and the needs of my children and this focus, honed over years of cheering on a bunch of boys, has created in me a fierceness I never knew existed. I have seen the inside of an emergency room more than once. I have what it takes to endure anything, including what is required for me to handle in the workplace.
Maybe the people I have spent my time supporting can say who I am through their lives. I helped my husband obtain his teaching certification and two master's degrees. We have been married 28 years. My oldest son graduated from college with a degree in economics and months later landed a great job in his field. My middle son is half-way through a top-rated music program degree, already thinking about graduate school. My youngest son, though not particularly thrilled with high school, is smart and a great athlete. He has taught himself how to do some cooking and does not hesitate to help those in need. All of these guys know they are loved. They know buying stuff isn't as important as having experiences. They know they can bring any friend home at any time and there will always be more room at the table and enough food to share.
Considering all this, I seek employment. To improve your organization, I am your next best choice.
Sincerely yours,
Mary Ellen Shores
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