Having fun with cover letters

A few years ago I was looking for a new job. I had spent the previous 7 years at the same company and needed to do something new. So I reached out to an associate from PayPal with whom I had worked during a PayPal integration project.

After meeting for a coffee and a chat I was invited to come in for an interview for a position in the sales engineering team. As with any new job application I wanted to get my cards in order — by updating my CV and preparing a cover letter. And I knew that PayPal was a fun company with a startup vibe. So I wanted to have a bit of fun with my cover letter.

Here it is, for your enjoyment:

As you can see from the above cover letter, I followed the below guidelines:

1. Demonstrate my skill set and fit for the new role
2. Have a bit of fun — make something that really stands out
3. Follow the company’s style-guide so that you can show you have decent design skills
4. I even put my desired salary in there (as the cost for “Darren” on the findarockstar.com website) — a bit cocky I know, but I got it!

So there you go — cover letters don’t need to be boring. Stand out from the crowd and capture your potential employer’s attention and imagination!