The trick here is to figure out how fishing around for jobs is like being in kindergarten and being taught to play well with others. It's not too intuitive, since job-seeking consists largely of convincing others of how amazing one is, whereas that kind of immodest behavior was frowned upon in my kindergarten. As was the impressionistic approach during painting time, but that's another story.
Since I'm currently fishing in a pool which may not contain many, or any, actual jobs for me -- this being cultural resource management archaeology in the general Portland area -- I'm sending a relatively large number of resumes in the hopes that one of them will catch something. I'd be happy to be hired by any of the companies I'm sending to, but that doesn't make for a good cover letter. Dear any and all of you.... no, it just doesn't work. So I have to scour around company websites until I find particular specialties for which I can express enthusiasm without being an insincere tool. But I'm starting to imagine myself sitting in a circle of brightly colored plastic chairs with the companies to which I'm writing.
"I appreciate Sarah for her focus on aboveground cultural deposits, I appreciate Billy for his residue analysis facilities, I appreciate Timmy for his emphasis on cooperation with tribal governments..."
Posted by dianna at May 29, 2007 10:04 AM