As a business, we get daily requests from young people for jobs, whether it is for admin support, free internships or people wanting to join our graduate recruitment programme. Often, the email that I get from these people mentions how much they would like to work for a company like Footprint, and I think, “Yes, you probably would.”
The problem is that so many of these requests are simply mailmerged – if I was to pick up the phone to any one of them and ask what they knew about Footprint, they probably would not have a clue. In recent weeks, I have had a number of calls from educational bodies asking if we would consider taking an IT student on an apprenticeship – and when I explain that we only have a handful of computers, so it is likely that the only work we could get an IT apprentice to do would be turning monitors on and off at the start of the day, they seem quite surprised.
So here’s some helpful advice for anyone writing to us to ask for a job. Mention that you have read this blog. And then explain how you think your skills would match our client base. Include your CV, and if the covering letter has sold you well, I’ll read this. But send me a standard letter that pretends that you have a clue about my business and I’ll email you my standard rejection letter right back.
