5 ms·

Wait a second... this guy sent a letter to a firm looking for employment and had it along with his personal details paraded around - what looks to be - the indu

Wait a second... this guy sent a letter to a firm looking for employment and had it along with his personal details paraded around - what looks to be - the industry? How is that not a serious violation of privacy? I'm pretty sure this would violate even the most basic privacy statement. I highly doubt they asked the submitter if they would enjoy being emailed to the industry. In Canada or the EU you'd be violating Government legislation too. Hope it works out for him, but this just goes to show how little Wall Street thinks of people outside of their own circle. If I were a high up in Morgan Stanley (it's the only company name not blacked out) I'd be pissed.

TWAndrews 14y ago
Yeah, if I were looking for an internship, I'd hate to have my cover letter and resume circulated on personal emails where it's sure to be read closely.
- run4yourlives 14y ago
  Point is that nobody asked him. Would you prefer that I "assume" you might be interested in buying something from my close advisor and pass on your name and address to him as well if you buy something from me?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- cbs 14y ago
  Yeah, if I were looking for an internship, I'd hate to have my cover letter and resume circulated on personal emails where it's sure to be read closely. Exactly, in this specific case it is a net positive! That's plenty of reason to ignore the implications of the underlying behavior.
jamii 14y ago
It even says at the bottom "This email is confidential..."
- JoshTriplett 14y ago
  I suspect that footer got added by the first person who forwarded the email, not by the original sender. Random people sending cover letters don't tend to add crazy confidentiality footers to email; business email systems do that.
  - RobotCaleb 14y ago
    It's cut off, but I thought it was a joke. It doesn't quite read as official.
codegeek 14y ago
serioulsy, what are you talking about ? This kid needed a job (pretty bad i would think) and he wrote a "smart" cover letter with his name/email address. HOw is that information being passed around other members of the company a violation ? I don't know about other countries but in the US, I would think it is normal. I mean u need a job. Do you really think your email address is that critical to hide from other senior members of a company u want to apply to ?
- __alexs 14y ago
  Being unemployed doesn't mean you have no rights. It's just basic politeness to respect that.
- jeremyarussell 14y ago
  The issue is the author openly admitted to them sending these letters out for laughs when they are from people trying to blow themselves out of proportion.
natrius 14y ago
There's no privacy statement involved. It's an email. Emails get forwarded. It's polite to ask first.
- Retric 14y ago
  Forwarding emails is a copyright violation.
  - dasil003 14y ago
    So sue me.
  - __alexs 14y ago
    So is replying to emails with the original message intact :(
  - nordsieck 14y ago
    So is reading them.
  - sw007 14y ago
    Always amazes me how HN is full of incredibly intelligent people yet some are so spectacularly void of common sense. Only on HN would the discussion turn to whether or not the kid would be annoyed at an email that's forwarded without someone asking him. Course he wouldn't - they are all lauding him. His email has achieved exactly what it set out to do - it's got him a gig at an investment bank.
    - run4yourlives 14y ago
      Course he wouldn't - they are all lauding him. So basically, the ends justify the means? That's like suggesting that me giving away your credit card number is okay if you end up buying the product that the third party tries to sell you.
      - Gormo 14y ago
        The context justifies the means. Yes to forwarding resume/cover letter email to others who might seek to hire the applicant. No to sharing others' credit card numbers. Human beings - creatures capable of judgment and discretion - don't need to reduce every decision to predefined deontological criteria.

TWAndrews 14y ago

Yeah, if I were looking for an internship, I'd hate to have my cover letter and resume circulated on personal emails where it's sure to be read closely.

run4yourlives 14y ago
Point is that nobody asked him. Would you prefer that I "assume" you might be interested in buying something from my close advisor and pass on your name and address to him as well if you buy something from me?
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
cbs 14y ago
Yeah, if I were looking for an internship, I'd hate to have my cover letter and resume circulated on personal emails where it's sure to be read closely. Exactly, in this specific case it is a net positive! That's plenty of reason to ignore the implications of the underlying behavior.

jamii 14y ago

It even says at the bottom "This email is confidential..."

JoshTriplett 14y ago
I suspect that footer got added by the first person who forwarded the email, not by the original sender. Random people sending cover letters don't tend to add crazy confidentiality footers to email; business email systems do that.
- RobotCaleb 14y ago
  It's cut off, but I thought it was a joke. It doesn't quite read as official.

codegeek 14y ago

serioulsy, what are you talking about ? This kid needed a job (pretty bad i would think) and he wrote a "smart" cover letter with his name/email address. HOw is that information being passed around other members of the company a violation ? I don't know about other countries but in the US, I would think it is normal. I mean u need a job. Do you really think your email address is that critical to hide from other senior members of a company u want to apply to ?

__alexs 14y ago
Being unemployed doesn't mean you have no rights. It's just basic politeness to respect that.
jeremyarussell 14y ago
The issue is the author openly admitted to them sending these letters out for laughs when they are from people trying to blow themselves out of proportion.

natrius 14y ago

There's no privacy statement involved. It's an email. Emails get forwarded. It's polite to ask first.

Retric 14y ago
Forwarding emails is a copyright violation.
- dasil003 14y ago
  So sue me.
- __alexs 14y ago
  So is replying to emails with the original message intact :(
- nordsieck 14y ago
  So is reading them.
- sw007 14y ago
  Always amazes me how HN is full of incredibly intelligent people yet some are so spectacularly void of common sense. Only on HN would the discussion turn to whether or not the kid would be annoyed at an email that's forwarded without someone asking him. Course he wouldn't - they are all lauding him. His email has achieved exactly what it set out to do - it's got him a gig at an investment bank.
  - run4yourlives 14y ago
    Course he wouldn't - they are all lauding him. So basically, the ends justify the means? That's like suggesting that me giving away your credit card number is okay if you end up buying the product that the third party tries to sell you.
    - Gormo 14y ago
      The context justifies the means. Yes to forwarding resume/cover letter email to others who might seek to hire the applicant. No to sharing others' credit card numbers. Human beings - creatures capable of judgment and discretion - don't need to reduce every decision to predefined deontological criteria.