A student seeking an internship on Wall Street has the investment world buzzing with his email that has been dubbed "the best cover letter ever" by some Wall Street bosses,
Forbes reported.
The student, an unnamed undergraduate majoring in finance, penned a humble, honest, and slightly self-deprecating cover letter Monday seeking a summer internship.
"I have no qualms about fetching coffee, shining shoes or picking up laundry, and will work for next to nothing," the student wrote. "In all honesty, I just want to be around professionals in the industry and gain as much knowledge as I can. The truth is I have no unbelievably special skills or genius eccentricities, but I do have a near perfect GPA and will work hard for you."
Julia La Roche and Joe Weisenthal
at Business Insider, where the letter was originally posted, called it "unapologetically honest."
"Sometimes applications for summer internships on Wall Street are extremely embarrassing because the applicant is totally full of themselves or completely clueless," La Roche and Weisenthal wrote. "What happens is the letters go viral and the street passes them around in long email chains blasting the applicant. They're always funny, but a little bit sad."
But reactions to this cover letter were quite the opposite. The recipient of the e-mail quickly forwarded it around to colleagues, adding, "This might be the best cover letter I've ever received."
In a matter of hours, the message had circulated investment firms from New York to Houston.
But not everyone was impressed by the letter's candid tone. Lex van Dam, former top trader at Goldman Sachs and head of hedge fund Hampstead Capital, told Forbes he thought some of the reactions were over-hyped.
"The letter is well-written and makes you have great sympathy for the applicant," van Dam said. "However, it also feels as a call for charity. I would still prefer the candidate to have something special about them that they can tell me about, rather than a person who pretty much admits that he or she is pretty average."
It did appeal to many others on Wall Street, though, and an email chain soon formed with comments like, "We're debating calling him up" and "No joke, I think we should consider this guy."
Here's the full text of the letter:
From: BLOCKED
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 1:14PM
To: BLOCKED
Subject: Summer Internship
Dear BLOCKED
My name is (BLOCKED) and I am an undergraduate finance student at (BLOCKED). I met you the summer before last at Smith & Wollensky's in New York when I was touring the east coast with my uncle, (BLOCKED). I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk with me that night.
I am writing to inquire about a possible summer internship in your office. I am aware it is highly unusual for undergraduates from average universities like (BLOCKED) to intern at (BLOCKED), but nevertheless I was hoping you might make an exception. I am extremely interested in investment banking and would love nothing more than to learn under your tutelage. I have no qualms about fetching coffee, shining shoes or picking up laundry, and will work for next to nothing. In all honesty, I just want to be around professionals in the industry and gain as much knowledge as I can.
I won’t waste your time inflating my credentials, throwing around exaggerated job titles, or feeding you a line of crapp (sic) about how my past experiences and skill set align perfectly for an investment banking internship. The truth is I have no unbelievably special skills or genius eccentricities, but I do have a near perfect GPA and will work hard for you. I’ve interned for Merrill Lynch in the Wealth Management Division and taken an investment banking class at (BLOCKED), for whatever that is worth.
I am currently awaiting admission results for (BLOCKED) Masters of Science in Accountancy program, which I would begin this fall if admitted. I am also planning on attending law school after my master’s program, which we spoke about in New York. I apologize for the blunt nature of my letter, but I hope you seriously consider taking me under your wing this summer. I have attached my resume for your review. Feel free to call me at (BLOCKED) or email at (BLOCKED). Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
BLOCKED.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.