I'm not a fan of writting cover letters.

Below is an attempt at a brutally honest cover letter.  I hate writing these things, I never know how to convey my qualities without sounding like a dick.

Benjamin Rupp
206 788-6871
2438 SW Kenyon St.
Seattle WA 91806
206 788-6871
ben@MKHmfg.com
www.BenjaminRupp.com
 
I’ve never been adept at writing a cover letter, mainly because I am not comfortable selling myself.  Don’t get me wrong, I do not lack confidence in my skills, I just feel weird telling you about them, I would prefer to show you. Humility was strongly ingrained in me growing up.  Bragging was tacky, embellishment was unacceptable, lying was inexcusable. The idea that you would spend an entire letter singing your own praises is not an easy thing for me to grasp. I also took some advice given by a college professor to heart; “Never make yourself the story”.  I would much rather tell you someone else’s story. That said, here we are, I am about to tell you some reasons why you should hire me.  

Fairly recently, following an employee review by the head of my department, I had a supervisor half-joking mock me for being a “team player”.  I think he might have been concerned that I was setting too high a bar. I am the guy who will answer the phone in the middle of the night or on a holiday, who will take work home with him, or stay late to finish something.  I will get out of bed in the middle of the night if something in a video is bothering me. I will lose sleep to polish an edit, or to grade a shot. I’m not claiming perfection, but I will try my hardest to get as close to that unreachable standard as possible. I take extreme pride in my work and I want it to stand up to any inspection and will put the time in to get it there.

I’ve often been underqualified on paper for jobs I’ve held. I had no experience with any NLE before being hired to edit audio content at DiscoverMusic.com. I had no master control experience before taking a position at NWCN. Within months of both hire dates I was training and supervising others in these roles. I am an extremely quick study. What I don’t know I learn easily. No one knows all there is to know about editing, or lighting, or graphic design or videography and I am no different in this regard. What I do have is a very strong foundation in all of these areas and I am confident that anything I lack I will gain quickly, I will find the answers on my own if need be.

I also believe very strongly in being inclusive as part of a team. Everyone should have input and the more eyes that are on a project the better. Leading by example is more important than being a “boss” than flexing authority. If team members have respect for their leaders, they will go above and beyond to accomplish the task at hand, and this all starts with how much work you personally put in. I am comfortable working on my own as well, nearly all of the work on my web page was done entirely by myself.

I have such a strong creative drive that I have often looked outside of my employment to fill it, whether it was doing graphic design for a record label I launched with some friends or providing the sound track to the then minor league Seattle Sounders. I am driven to create. I long to tell stories and capture sound and images, both for a salary and in my spare time. I see the world in shots and edits. 

There, apparently that wasn’t so hard.  I just wrote a cover letter, without misleading you in any way. If you would like to talk more about what I can bring to your company, please don’t hesitate in contacting me.

Sincerely
Benjamin Rupp