If my startup fails, this is my cover letter for my next employer | Hacker News Reader

If my startup fails, this is my cover letter for my next employer

killall.dashnine.org

94 pointsraffi17 comments

I think this joking, but remember this anyways:

No one gives a damn about "I, I, I, me, me, me..."

"I did xyz... and I want xyz... and for me, I want... and I do... and I'm..."

People want, "...for you, can be done... value to you... profit to you... minimal risk to you... incentive-based, so you only pay me as work is delivered..."

People are persuaded by appealing to their own interests. If you give an I/me centric story to persuade a savvy business person to do something, you're instantly getting written off 90%+ of the time. If you can show someone that you can do amazing things for them, they'll choose you and you profit.

The only you-sentence in the piece was:

"I have many skills, high standards, and can assume any roles necessary to help you succeed."

Well, the whole conceit of the piece is that the guy is his own horrible boss, but could presumably be as effective working for someone else who appreciates his ethic. The whole thing could be a lot more direct if the goal was to persuade, but then the humor would be lost.

You definitely have to read the entire article. I assumed it was some dailywtf-style rant until the last paragraph.

You do? I thought the punchline was clear by the middle of the second paragraph. I wanted not to know, but eh.

I submitted this yesterday and pulled it after 20 minutes. This was written in jest to capture my feelings the day before I announced my product here.

I'm glad that it was in jest; you may convince someone that you'd work just as hard for them as you did for yourself. I doubt that is a situation most people would enjoy, especially as the first job after a folded startup.

This is pretty funny because I am in a similar situation, and have been wondering how the hell I am going to explain the last two years of my life. Could anyone in HR really understand what it is like to start a company?

> Could anyone in HR really understand what it is like to start a company?

Odd that you would assume that anyone in HR is incapable of starting their own company.

Most people in a small (<50 people) company would understand.

Let us extend the question to "Could anyone at a company where the HR department does interviews..."

This was extremely fun to read. I love it. It helps people to understand that working for a startup probably won't bring you riches, but it will make you a better person.

This is one of the best pieces of writing on entrepreneurship I have ever seen.

Congratulations to raffi for launching. I enjoyed this piece, and it would serve its stated purpose very well I believe.

An impressive feat by an impressive individual, it seems. Wish you all the best!

Is the author here referring to himself as his boss in third-person? The last paragraph somewhat implicitly states it but isn't 100% clear. . .no one else I asked so I felt I obligated to ask it.

Yes, that's how I read it and most people here seem to operate under the same assumption.

Nice idea--but too long: who would read past the first winning sentences? Consider the potential employer may have dozens or hundreds of resumes to read.

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