• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Writing a letter to a potential employer

VMan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
4,996
Reaction score
34
I am graduating this December with a degree in Marketing. One of the companies which I would really like to work for is Allen Edmonds, due to their products as well as their location.

I was thinking of writing a letter to the company, introducing myself, telling them I will be graduating soon with a marketing degree, but also letting them know that I have a lot of interest and knowledge in their products along with knowledge about styles of shoes, shoe construction, their competitors, their retail outlets, their consumers, and a lot of other general information that I think would be useful to them.

Now my question is, since this is meant to be a somewhat casual letter just to say 'hello' and introduce myself/give them a little bit of info about me, and to inquire if they have starting positions/internships open, should I send a resume and all that jazz at the time of the letter?

I appreciate responses, as I do not really know what the general procedures are regarding this.
 

lawyerdad

Lying Dog-faced Pony Soldier
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
27,006
Reaction score
17,139
I would definitely include a resume and all that jazz. Two things can happen with your letter. One, somebody reads it and throws it away. Two, somebody reads it, is favorably impressed, and thinks you might be worth a look. In the event of #2, you want to do everything you can to make things easy for people on the AE side and minimize the chances of your dropping through the cracks due to inertia, bureaucracy, etc. If there's a resume, etc. included with your letter, it's easy for the person reviewing your letter ot shoot it over to the personnel department or whoever handles employment/internship candidates for them, thereby starting in motion whatever needs to happen administratively.
With no resume, that same person has no way of assessing your qualifications, etc. Assuming there's some initial interest, it puts the ball in their court to follow up with a phone call, letter, etc. They might decide it's too much effort, or might mean to do it but get busy and forget, or might delegate that responsibility to somebody who drops the ball.
Personally, having been in charge of recruiting and hiring people for various types of positions, it would annoy me to all hell to get a letter expressing interest that did not include a resume or other information that I would need to decide whether the writer was worth my spending any time and attention on.
 

Matt

ex-m@Triate
Joined
Jan 14, 2005
Messages
10,765
Reaction score
275
Id suggest offering to intern in there free and then impressing them with your knowledge once you are on The Inside.

Otherwise, you could deploy my method of a decade or so ago, when I used to go to all the industry events just to meet people in my industry (in my case, PR agencies). I always felt really stupid and out of place at those things, but I think they were impressed with the fact that I would show up - I was the only student there.

Face to face is definitely the best way. If AE is in your area, then find out if there is some kind of footwear/orthotics/leather/something body. Rock up, chatter to people and you will see very quickly how small the world is when someone says "that's fascinating, you should really meet Joe from AE".

One thing that my own experience has taught me (I rose pretty high pretty fast for a few reasons, including my willingness to move to Vietnam) but becoming a Managing Director at 27 means that the awkward-post-college-please-hire-me memories are still pretty fresh.

My best advice on that is to remember that we have all been there. I really appreciate and take an interest in students who take the time to approach me and tell me what they do and are interested in now, because I, like everyone else, remembers how that feels.

Best wishes with it buddy.
 

faustian bargain

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
2
i have written exactly 1 million cover letters.

yes, send a resume.

make the letter fairly short and to the point. they don't have time to read any ramblings.

start by stating why you're writing them. if there's a particular position to aim for, all the better. in fact you should give them the position you want, even if you're not responding to a specific advertisement. then describe your training, work experience, and area(s) of specialized knowledge. don't tell them your hobbies or anything else irrelevant.

always end with something about meeting to discuss opportunities at ___. ("I am available on __, ___, and ___; what time works best for you?" etc.)

/andrew
 

Kasper

Senior Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
274
Reaction score
0
You should write this letter to someone not in Human Resources. Take time to call there and find out the information of a bigwig and send it to him. I might not be the highest qualified but this is how I landed my current job. When your not the sharpest tool in the shed you have to be resourceful like a 5-in-1 Garden Weasel.
 

VMan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
4,996
Reaction score
34
Ok, thanks for all the replies, it's got me on a pretty clear path as to what I should do next.

One more question regarding the resume - I haven't done an internship (I know, I know...), in part because I've been doing the eBay business thing for the past three years, selling shoes and clothing. Would this be of interest to an employer (shows I am motivated, enterprising, ambitious, yada yada) or is it too 'small potatoes'?

Actually one last question - a few years back I took a small 1-credit course that was basically prep work for life after college. We touched on resumes, and the instructor (who was an HR major, and worked in the hiring department of a large company for a number of years) told us that it is not necessary to include your GPA in the resume unless it was over a 3.5 or so. My GPA is slightly under a 3.0, in part because I switched majors and had some classes from my previous major that I did poorly in (Engineering/Calc/Chem courses). However, I have done well in all my marketing and major-specific courses. Would not listing my GPA send them a red flag?
 

faustian bargain

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
2
Originally Posted by Kasper
You should write this letter to someone not in Human Resources. Take time to call there and find out the information of a bigwig and send it to him. I might not be the highest qualified but this is how I landed my current job. When your not the sharpest tool in the shed you have to be resourceful like a 5-in-1 Garden Weasel.
Agreed; in my case (architecture) I always send resumes to the hiring principal. Working connections really opens doors, even when the connections are tenuous (e.g. your roommate's uncle knows Mr. X in Accounting...). Firm up your entree connection, then, once you have someone on the inside stumping for you, it really leverages your efforts.
 

lawyerdad

Lying Dog-faced Pony Soldier
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
27,006
Reaction score
17,139
Originally Posted by VersaceMan
Ok, thanks for all the replies, it's got me on a pretty clear path as to what I should do next.

One more question regarding the resume - I haven't done an internship (I know, I know...), in part because I've been doing the eBay business thing for the past three years, selling shoes and clothing. Would this be of interest to an employer (shows I am motivated, enterprising, ambitious, yada yada) or is it too 'small potatoes'?

Actually one last question - a few years back I took a small 1-credit course that was basically prep work for life after college. We touched on resumes, and the instructor (who was an HR major, and worked in the hiring department of a large company for a number of years) told us that it is not necessary to include your GPA in the resume unless it was over a 3.5 or so. My GPA is slightly under a 3.0, in part because I switched majors and had some classes from my previous major that I did poorly in (Engineering/Calc/Chem courses). However, I have done well in all my marketing and major-specific courses. Would not listing my GPA send them a red flag?

As to #1, I'd say include it. Personally, I like to see evidence that people have been out in the world, exercising some measure of responsibility and judgment. It also helps to highlight the fact that you have some practical business experience and aren't just a "raw" graduate.
I don't think not listing your GPA is a red flag at all. It's quite common not to list it. Frankly, I'd say more people have convinced me that they are tools by trying to hard to impress me with their grades, etc. (especially when it's clear they've been selective in what information they've chosen to present - e.g., "3.8 GPA in classes that met after 10:00 a.m") than have successfully gotten a foot in the door by listing that sort of thing on a resume.
 

VMan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
4,996
Reaction score
34
Originally Posted by Kasper
You should write this letter to someone not in Human Resources. Take time to call there and find out the information of a bigwig and send it to him. I might not be the highest qualified but this is how I landed my current job. When your not the sharpest tool in the shed you have to be resourceful like a 5-in-1 Garden Weasel.

Thats a great idea - I was planning on sending it to someone fairly high in the company who may take interest in having some fresh blood in the company rather than an HR person who might give the stock response "I'm sorry but we currently have no positions available in the company".

Luckily, a friend of mine (who I haven't talked to in about a year) is family-friends with John Stollenwerk, who was owner of AE until the recent takeover. I may have to give my buddy a call...
 

faustian bargain

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
2,444
Reaction score
2
Originally Posted by VersaceMan
Thats a great idea - I was planning on sending it to someone fairly high in the company who may take interest in having some fresh blood in the company rather than an HR person who might give the stock response "I'm sorry but we currently have no positions available in the company". Luckily, a friend of mine (who I haven't talked to in about a year) is family-friends with John Stollenwerk, who was owner of AE until the recent takeover. I may have to give my buddy a call...
indeed. work it, girlfriend!
 

VMan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
4,996
Reaction score
34
One more question that may actually be the toughest of all - what shoes to wear to the (potential) interview?

I could wear a pair of AE Park Ave's, but that could be perceived as trying way too hard.

I could wear my pair of dark antique brown C&J handgrades that are my favorite pair of shoes, but this might say "my shoes are better than yours".

tounge.gif
 

lawyerdad

Lying Dog-faced Pony Soldier
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
27,006
Reaction score
17,139
Originally Posted by VersaceMan
One more question that may actually be the toughest of all - what shoes to wear to the (potential) interview?

I could wear a pair of AE Park Ave's, but that could be perceived as trying way too hard.

I could wear my pair of dark antique brown C&J handgrades that are my favorite pair of shoes, but this might say "my shoes are better than yours".

tounge.gif

No question - wear the PA's.
 

Matt

ex-m@Triate
Joined
Jan 14, 2005
Messages
10,765
Reaction score
275
Originally Posted by VersaceMan
One more question regarding the resume - I haven't done an internship (I know, I know...), in part because I've been doing the eBay business thing for the past three years, selling shoes and clothing. Would this be of interest to an employer (shows I am motivated, enterprising, ambitious, yada yada) or is it too 'small potatoes'?
tell them once youve got the interview, they'll appreciate your resourcefulness and your knowledge of their industry, its terms and jargon. For the purposes of the interview, you sold only shoes
smile.gif
It all counts.
Would not listing my GPA send them a red flag?
i never look at a candidates grades. I look at his/her attitude, willingness to learn, efforts they made to get ahead while they were studying etc. Maybe thats just cos my grades werent so hot
smile.gif
 

Bradford

Current Events Moderator
Joined
Mar 19, 2002
Messages
6,626
Reaction score
228
Wear the Park Avenue's and if you get the job/internship wear nothing but AE's. You have to have loyalty to the company you work for. Keep the CJ's in the back of the closet for your next job.

Definitely put your Ebay experience on your resume - it shows initiative.

Skip the GPA. If they care, they'll ask.

Good luck.
 

VMan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2003
Messages
4,996
Reaction score
34
Originally Posted by Bradford
Wear the Park Avenue's and if you get the job/internship wear nothing but AE's. You have to have loyalty to the company you work for. Keep the CJ's in the back of the closet for your next job.

Definitely put your Ebay experience on your resume - it shows initiative.

Skip the GPA. If they care, they'll ask.

Good luck.


Good point w/ the shoes, I need to pick up a pair of standard black captoes anyway - might as well be the Park Ave.

Thanks for the other tips, too.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,182
Messages
10,579,221
Members
223,890
Latest member
MakersGumy
Top