Well, as you may or may not know, my power was out last week for about 3+ days. On Tuesday, my power went back on, but not my cable. Therefore, I had to resort to dial up for my internet. While I chatted online and watched a junk movie, I was bored so I decided to apply to an internship.
In June, TheNote (Political Newsletter thing I read daily, it is a great joy in my life, basically pick the top stories of the day and extract key quotes) asked for Interns to submit applications. They only asked once, and it was over two months ago, so I assume their search was over. However, I was bored and couldn’t do much online. So applied. Mainly, I wrote a joke cover letter and submitted it.
The Note-
This application is not the typical one. First off, it is being submitted extremely late, which is not my style. Also, I must admit I was originally unsure of applying for an internship with The Note, but I have pretty much decided to give it a go and apply, obviously. The internship would be fun, and while it is not necessarily tailored to my career goals, I should be entitled to some fun.
The Note is a highlight of my day; I kid you not. I talk to friends about my enjoyment of it. One in particular, Victoria Johnson, has heard more than she would like to hear about my love of The Note. I invite you to call her at ###-###-#### and ask. I think she would find it to be a hoot if you called, and I assure you, she is not forewarned of her mentioning in this e-mail (so have some fun with her, she is very good humored).
My Note reading started last year when I worked for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. A friend in the regional press part of Communications pointed it out to me while I was working in Political, and I have been a reader ever since. It honestly has helped develop my understanding politics, and I feel that I have learned as much from it as some of my courses at GW.
In your inquiry regarding interns over a month ago, The Note staff asked what would make me stand out. This question is often answered in my cover letters in applications to other internships. I typically say my communication skills and experience are what make me stand out. However, with this application, I am doing it more on the fly, so more a blunt and less typical and dry response will be given.
Honestly, my greatest assets are likely things not necessarily directly related to politics. Consider me a “handyman intern” with a strong political focus. For example, I am excellent with computers and technology. I own and operate a web site, Billikens.com, that receives over 10,000 daily visits. For the Kerry Campaign, I got my start as an intern by working in IT where I worked with all levels of the campaign.
My “handyman intern” skills also proved to be useful this summer when I worked for a Member of Parliament. Christopher Fraser MP was newly elected this May, and he didn’t have a staff. This summer he only had a part-time personal secretary and me. My job pretty much ended up being running his office in Westminster. This involved various tasks from making sure the pictures in the office were hung properly to formulating debate preparation and speeches. It was a good experience because I worked with everything including scheduling, press, research, and interacting with other MPs. This utilized my “handyman” abilities.
My eventual future likely will either be political staffing or academia. Communications and the media have not necessarily been on my radar. With this information, along with my tardy application and informal message, my application for an internship is not quite by the book for applying to a major media outlet. However, this stranger (me) can assure you that you would not regret having me as an intern. In my past jobs, I am always one of the hardest workers and an asset to my employer. I hope my resume and GPA offer some reassurance that I am not a slacker of a college student. I believe I can be on the best Googling monkeys that you have ever seen.
I have attached my resume to this e-mail, and I honestly am not expecting an internship from my loved The Note because of the tardiness of this application amongst other reasons. Nonetheless, it would be nice to receive a reply, and I hope The Note staff enjoys their respective vacations. I will miss my Note this month, but I have slowly been weaned off because of the diminishing number of “must-reads” recently.
Sincerely,
Steve Rogers
PS On a more formal note, I would like to mention that I am the nephew of David Rogers of The Wall Street Journal. I do not know if this would present a conflict of interest regarding your publication. Obviously, he is a journalist you reference to often, and I wanted to be up front regarding this relation of mine. If this is a conflict of interest and are the grounds for not extending me an internship opportunity, I would completely understand without complaint.
PSS Excuse the length of this message, but just consider it to be a big news day. The Note and articles, depending on the day, can take me 20 minutes or over an hour to read. Think of this message as one of the extending days but in application form.
Basically, (as seen above to those Note readers) I tried to use some of the Note’s little phrases and how they word things. However, I was mainly entertaining myself. I was also curious about how they would react to my letter….
Well…the next day, I surprising got an e-mail from The Note offering me a position. I replied with my availability. They want me for more hours, and my class schedule isn’t very cooperative with my few hours factor. However, they have said they would be in touch.
So, let this be a lesson to everyone who has ever gotten career advice.
When on Dial-Up, watch the Movie You’ve Got Mail and write your cover letter as a joke. And definitely make a reference to Victoria Johnson
Following that little rule, I have a 100% internship success rate…