Not Your Average Cover Letter

Brittany Bales Shrock 

“The grandest seduction of all is the myth that doing everything better gets us where we want to be. It gets us somewhere, certainly, but not anywhere worth being.”
― Shauna Niequist

As my journey as an intern comes to a close, my human nature keeps leaping to the next big thing. I have to remind myself daily that it is not the end result I should be longing for, but it is the journey that gets me there. In the midst of updating my resume, writing countless cover letters and searching for a job in a city that is unfamiliar, I find myself overwhelmed. I let the pressures of landing a “perfect job” suffocate me until I’ve completely lost sight of the details that make my story worthwhile.

It wasn’t until my 80-year-old grandmother, who is battling Alzheimer’s, led me outside of her assisted living home, looked at the flowers that draped over the brick wall and said, “Darling, we all need to stop and taste the flowers.” Although her brain messed up the words of the phrase, her mind was in the right place and that was one step ahead of me. It was in that moment I realized the job search was much more than the end result, and I desperately needed to “stop and smell the roses.”  

Writing resumes and cover letters went from something I dreaded after work to a time I looked forward to. I see them as a way to express my goals and passions while telling my story, instead of just a way to display my work experience and flaunt my talents. This change in perspective has given me the freedom to release the pressure and enjoy the journey.

Below are a few tips that have made all the difference in my writing.

• Make sure your resume highlights areas that your prospective employer would find attractive. 
• For example, I am applying for a position at a fashion industry that strives to make a social impact, so I am highlighting community, development, fashion and my experience with the Latino culture.

• Let your resume tell the facts and your cover letter tell the story. For example, my resume shows my goal, my education and my work experience. My cover letter is where I tell my story of how I got to where I am today and how those experiences have led me to the organization to which I am applying.

• Let your personal mission be known. Let the company know what all the experiences on your resume say about who you are, where you want to go and why you want to be a part of the organization.

Your journey might be long but the details matter and that’s what makes up your story and a not-so-average cover letter.

Blood-Stained Apologies

Brittany Bales Shrock

As a woman who appreciates artistic expression through fashion, I am deeply dismayed by the length a company that I’ve shopped at many times has gone to in order to maintain its edgy and millennialist image.

After making the news multiple times for outrageously offensive products and twisted messages, Urban Outfitters doesn’t stop producing headlines like these:

• “Why I’m Breaking Up with Urban Outfitters”

• “Urban Outfitters Can’t Be Respected After Kent State Sweatshirt Release”

• “Black Leaders Outraged at ‘Ghettopoly’ Game at Urban Outfitters”

• “Navajo Nation Sues Urban Outfitters over Goods”

What started out as a company from Urban Outfitters Inc., known for hip style and quirky fashion statements, has now become the cause of much despair for a number of different groups, including some of the company’s most loyal customers. Urban Outfitters is not the company that has made a mistake, received backlash and apologized for it without any intention of making the same mistake again. This is a company that thrives off of the well-known phrase, “any publicity is good publicity.” But I must beg the question, is it really? Is offending an entire race to make a sale a smart business strategy? Is making light of social issues such as eating disorders, depression and drug abuse a good way to brand your company? 

A naive business mistake is one thing, but creating an image based on negative shock factor can destroy a company’s reputation. History matters to consumers and making the same apology over and over will eventually be thought of as insincere. 

Potter Stewart once said, “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” A company that consistently acts without a moral compass will turn people off and will eventually destroy themselves from the inside out. When producing a product, making a statement or creating a brand that has the potential to offend an audience, one must ask if ethics are being compromised for shock value? If they are, it is a good chance the company could be heading into a media mess that will take weeks, months or years to clean up.

I don’t know the future of Urban Outfitters as a whole, and I can only speak on my behalf; but as a woman, a wife, a sister, a friend, a caretaker, a person of faith and a consumer, I want to invest my money in companies that respect and uphold the same standards that I try to. Mistakes are natural and forgiveness is worthwhile, but there comes a point where a blood-stained apology is just not enough.

Ease In or Jump?

Brittany Bales

 Whether I am relaxing by the pool or lying out on the beach, I always find it interesting to sit back and watch what method people choose to take the plunge into the freezing cold water ahead. Are you a jump-right-in/no-strings-attached type, or do you take the ease-right-in-until-completely-comfortable approach?

Personally, I go for the jump-right-in approach. I want to spend the least amount of time suffering and shivering through the uncomfortable cold as I can.

As a recent graduate of Mississippi State University, my intention was to stick with the same philosophy I have always had. But this time, it was not cold water I was delving into, it was the new, and sometimes cold, corporate world. By jumping right into a marketing/public relations internship directly after graduation in my hometown of Jackson, Miss., my head-first approach seemed to be panning out perfectly. However, three months of non-stop learning and preparation seemed like enough time for me, and I was ready for the “real world.” I wanted to launch into a full-time public relations position and that is exactly what I planned for. A few weeks later, I was fortunate enough to be offered the public relations director position at a well-known company in Jackson. Again, I was a little nervous but ready to jump right in to my new role.

Although this story may seem pretty predictable beyond this point, what you do not know is that in the middle of the interview process for my big job I got engaged to be married. As thrilled as I was to take the next step in my personal life, I knew this meant making a sacrifice in the career I was about to embark on. I now had a choice to make: jump into a full-time career in Jackson until marriage or ease into the public relations world once again in Memphis, Tenn., where my fiancé was in school and where we would soon settle down. After much prayer and support from friends and family, I decided to turn down the corporate world in Jackson for a public relations internship in Memphis.

As it turns out, easing into the Memphis corporate world through this internship was the best decision I could have made. Yes, beginning a second internship after college may seem like more of the ease-in approach but, the new city, state, company and friends that have come along with it has just enough of the jump-in factor I need. So, whatever your method of madness is, do not be afraid to try a different approach sometimes. You might just be surprised at the result.