6 ms·

A creative cover letter from a hacker to the Chicago Tribune

66 points by conesus 16y ago

japherwocky 16y ago
So I don't suppose anyone knows what the outcome was? Did he get an interview at least? Post-GOOG Edit: http://twitter.com/#!/onyxfish http://twitter.com/#!/onyxfish says, "Happy you all are enjoying it--even more happy it got me the job!"
- conesus 16y ago
  He's happily working there now. http://twitter.com/onyxfish/status/26467188200 http://twitter.com/onyxfish/status/26467188200 shows: "For those reading my cover letter via @brianboyer's twitstorm: Happy you all are enjoying it--even more happy it got me the job!"
- unwind 16y ago
  If you click the last of the weird (and, imo, quite visually displeasing) yellow tab thingies, close to the scribbled-over piece of text, it says "You didn't think we'd give away our teammate's contact info so easily! [...]". I interpreted this to mean that the guy who wrote the letter got hired by the ones who received it.
edw519 16y ago
I am less impressed by the cover letter's creativity than by its honesty. This guy writes like we're sitting together over coffee, or better yet, beer. He's either completely sincere or totally full of shit. After 5 minutes in person, it's probably easy to tell which. Glad to hear this had a happy ending. Respect.
mtigas 16y ago
“If you are not a hacker then you probably aren’t going to enjoy the rest of this letter any more than the first paragraph.” I love this. I want a hacker-friendly environment and you need a hacker. If you understand any of this, let’s get together.
malandrew 16y ago
Anyone have the original job ad? I'm curious.
- digitallogic 16y ago
  Me too. I felt like I was listening to half a discussion.
- tysone 16y ago
  Here are two recent job postings from the News Apps team at the Chicago Tribune: http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/09/09/hacker-wanted-code-in-the-public-interest-save-journalism-in-sunny-chicago-illinois/ http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/09/09/hacker-wanted... http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/12/24/were-hiring-a-uxia-expert-and-a-web-designerdeveloper/ http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/12/24/were-hiring-a...
  - staringmonkey 16y ago
    I'm the hacker in question and its the former ad I replied to. And yes, I'm quite gainfully and meaningfully employed with the Tribune. And no, I'm not full of shit (at least I wasn't on that occasion.) Glad folks are enjoying/inspired by it.
    - eru 16y ago
      The ad used the work `grok'. So there was a pretty high chance that the tone of your cover letter would be well received. Good perception!
noahth 16y ago
When I hear "creative cover letter" I think of something more than three to four paragraphs that cover an applicant's background, interests, and goals. It's an excellent cover letter, sure, but I fail to see much creativity with the form or structure. There's "only" the creativity that underlies all concise, punchy, effective writing.

66 points by conesus 16y ago

So I don't suppose anyone knows what the outcome was? Did he get an interview at least? Post-GOOG Edit: http://twitter.com/#!/onyxfish http://twitter.com/#!/onyxfish says, "Happy you all are enjoying it--even more happy it got me the job!"

conesus 16y ago
He's happily working there now. http://twitter.com/onyxfish/status/26467188200 http://twitter.com/onyxfish/status/26467188200 shows: "For those reading my cover letter via @brianboyer's twitstorm: Happy you all are enjoying it--even more happy it got me the job!"
unwind 16y ago
If you click the last of the weird (and, imo, quite visually displeasing) yellow tab thingies, close to the scribbled-over piece of text, it says "You didn't think we'd give away our teammate's contact info so easily! [...]". I interpreted this to mean that the guy who wrote the letter got hired by the ones who received it.

edw519 16y ago

I am less impressed by the cover letter's creativity than by its honesty. This guy writes like we're sitting together over coffee, or better yet, beer. He's either completely sincere or totally full of shit. After 5 minutes in person, it's probably easy to tell which. Glad to hear this had a happy ending. Respect.

mtigas 16y ago

“If you are not a hacker then you probably aren’t going to enjoy the rest of this letter any more than the first paragraph.” I love this. I want a hacker-friendly environment and you need a hacker. If you understand any of this, let’s get together.

malandrew 16y ago

Anyone have the original job ad? I'm curious.

digitallogic 16y ago
Me too. I felt like I was listening to half a discussion.
tysone 16y ago
Here are two recent job postings from the News Apps team at the Chicago Tribune: http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/09/09/hacker-wanted-code-in-the-public-interest-save-journalism-in-sunny-chicago-illinois/ http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/09/09/hacker-wanted... http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/12/24/were-hiring-a-uxia-expert-and-a-web-designerdeveloper/ http://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2009/12/24/were-hiring-a...
- staringmonkey 16y ago
  I'm the hacker in question and its the former ad I replied to. And yes, I'm quite gainfully and meaningfully employed with the Tribune. And no, I'm not full of shit (at least I wasn't on that occasion.) Glad folks are enjoying/inspired by it.
  - eru 16y ago
    The ad used the work `grok'. So there was a pretty high chance that the tone of your cover letter would be well received. Good perception!

noahth 16y ago

When I hear "creative cover letter" I think of something more than three to four paragraphs that cover an applicant's background, interests, and goals. It's an excellent cover letter, sure, but I fail to see much creativity with the form or structure. There's "only" the creativity that underlies all concise, punchy, effective writing.