Question about the use of a VERY blunt cover letter for internship recruiting

The message below came to me from a college Freshman who I met recently and is about a very “distinctive” cover letter that went viral a couple of weeks ago. This student is wondering how someone would view such a letter from the corporate perspective and asked for my opinion.

—–
JF wrote:

Hey Marquis!

I saw this news article floating around Yahoo the other day, I’d love to have your thoughts on it. The article is about a cover letter that cuts the crap and goes straight to the punch. It made me think of you so I thought I would pass it along to you. (The Link)

Let me know what you think of the article and cover letter! Would you ever look at a resume with a cover letter like that?

Have a good one,
JF

—–
My response:

Hey JF,

It’s great to hear from you. I actually saw that cover letter yesterday and it made me laugh out loud. The boldness of the kid’s approach makes it an instant classic in Internet lore.

To answer your question about whether I’d consider an application from someone with a cover letter like that, I’d have to say “it depends”. For a standard corporate job at a place like Aon, I’d likely have to pass on the kid because that kind of bluntness doesn’t exactly work in a corporate environment, especially from a college student seeking an internship. I can totally see a recruiter at a corporation looking at that letter and immediately thinking that the person could possibly act like that in person, which would be a no-go.

The difference here is that the guy was applying to an investment bank and that sort of blunt, swaggerlicious delivery is par for the course in that kind of environment. I’ve never worked at an investment bank, but, from what I hear, they tend to be very intense, hard charging, “cut through the bullsh!t” kinds of places and the student’s boldness would indicate that he could be a great fit in a place like that.

If you’re looking at applying for internships soon, I’d recommend that you not adopt that same approach because that kid represents a one in a kind win in that sort of situation. Plus, since this thing has already gone viral, any recruiter or hiring manager who might review your application will likely have already seen it. You never want to be seen as a copycat trying to replicate something cool, right?

Take care and good luck.

Marquis