Career Q&A: Funky, old school job application requirements - comply or fly?
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This Episode\'s Question
My question is about a letter of introduction. My wife is applying for a licensed social work position for a school district. The application has a spot for a letter of introduction. This is the first time either of us have come across a requirement like that. So...what\\xa0is\\xa0it? Then, should it be written by you or by a third party? And should you submit only\\xa0one\\xa0like you do for a cover letter or\\xa0multiple\\xa0letters like you do for letters of recommendations? Thanks for your input.
What You\'ll Learn In The Audio
-\\xa0Whether to comply with their funky, old school job application requests.
- The origins of these traditions from the 1700\'s and 1800\'s. Yup! They\'re that old school.
-\\xa0Your safest\\xa0bet for action when you get any outlier requirement while applying for a new job.
- How you can use this type of requirement as a sign post for the company culture you\'re about to join.
-\\xa0Whether recruiters \\xa0and hiring managers want you to do cover letters as a separate attachment. Hint: highly-debated-topic alert!
- How to not get yourself excluded for a job because you missed a step that was intended to check your attention to detail.
- A more modern version of this mythical letter of introduction (a referral), and how an email from a 3rd party introducing you to the employer is a great tip for getting in the door and getting noticed.
Tweetable of the Episode
Take notice of job application requirements as a sign of the company culture.
Resource of the Episode
Article:\\xa0Too funny! You\'ll get a kick out of this Wikipedia article on\\xa0Letters of Introduction. Besides the fact that it reinforces the old-school-osity, there\'s a fun quip in there from Ben Franklin writing one in a sarcastic way.
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Related\\xa0Episodes to Go Deeper on The Topic
-\\xa0People who are applying for new roles\\xa0also wondered whether you should submit a\\xa0unique resume for each job\\xa0you apply for.
-\\xa0They also wanted strategies to keep their\\xa0resume out of the trash bin\\xa0and at the top of the pile.
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