Employers: 4.5 Million People Quit Their Jobs. Be Reasonable.

When 4.5 Million people quit their jobs, you have to do better when you're looking for a new employee, especially when you are offering a good job like this one.

This was a cover letter I prepared for a job I was applying for. It's not that the salary wasn't great, but the demand that I create a special video for them kinda set me off. While I should have seen that it was a remote position, I missed that and even if I did see it, my eyes are trained to look past that because so many employers lie about it by saying

"Remote in New York City". Just because you let people work from home in a pandemic, does not mean the position is remote. I live in the desert, that's remote.

There is a very good chance I won't get this job, as they have gotten 66 applicants in 3 days. They will likely get 1000 applicants when its all done and never get back to 999 of them by virtue of the fcat that they made the job seem absolutely perfect. It will likely them take six months in hiring with all the candidates and I won't ever hear back. I'm just sick of the game. I just want a decent job and a life with my wife and two dogs. Is that too much to ask? Have a read and you decide.

May 20,2022

Hello Bethany W.,

I am writing to inquire about the visual storyteller position you listed on Linked-IN. As you are probably aware, the job market is incredibly competitive these days and the right job is often found based on location and quality of life. Meaning I really don't want to have to live in Los Angeles or New York or Seattle due to crime rates, cost of living and housing shortages at this time.

I am looking for a remote position and that is a critically important element of the job description that is not immediately apparent on your website, or in your job listing. Additionally, you are asking me to create a video for you about your business when I have never even heard of your business or services and am not sure if I even want this job given that it may require me to live to work rather than work to live.

As you may know, many jobseekers these days are not motivated by a large paycheck or a fancy benefit package. Why, I just wrote a story for my current employer about that very thing, where I interviewed several working people about their part in the 4.5 million people who quit their jobs last quarter.

I have found that people now want a job that enhances their quality of life, instead of forcing them to exist in a quality of life by virtue of a paycheck. Your very generous pay scale seems to indicate that you are looking for a highly qualified individual, which I believe I am. However, a highly paid/qualified individual is usually not found in the boondocks where I currently live, for just $50 a month rent for my wife, dogs, cat and self. Why, I don't even pay for electric, propane or water.

Why would a generous paycheck entice me to give this all up and force me to move across country, live in a place where my dogs cannot run freely, where the cost of living is ridiculous and the availability of affordable housing abysmal?

$100,000 a year could convince me however to change my mind, but of course, I would have to know where I had to live to collect that. I do hope you understand. Missing a location on your job post, or misrepresenting your location as so many employers do now, wastes both my time and your time.

If you have any interest in my qualifications, I have attached my resume for your review. I can tell a story better than most and have a gift for the visual arts. I am also a licensed captain and talented chef. I think all of that could make me the man to tell the story of your business and its products as I have a unique user experience having lived in a number of worlds and lived a variety of lives. Can I tell a story of how a user should interface with a software package? Absolutely, because I use software every day and can spin a yarn better than anyone, especially with a high-end camera.

I look forward to hearing back from you and will be posting this letter on my blog in the hopes that you and every other prospective employer out there might understand the quandary you put a jobseeker in when you ask for extra work like a prepared video, cover letter and resume when you don't even list where the job might be hosted.

Thank you

Capt. Christopher “That Sailing Guy” German