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CHAPTER VIII

Letters That Answered Help Wanted Ads

Letters are vital! Time and again in every field they proved for us an important step in job getting. Time and again they were the avenue that carried us straight to the receptive presence of the prospec­tive employer. But how carefully those letters had to be written! We had scarcely entered this job crusade before we realized that our letters had to have the same type of thoughtful approach, and the same mental attitude as the interview.

Too many letters actually fail their writers. They give nothing but the most commonplace picture of the prospect, and provide the employer with no sound reason for singling him out. The average person in answering an advertisement becomes al­most statistical. He dutifully cites the routine quali­ties that an employer might naturally expect to find in any man or woman who applied for the position. The employer takes for granted that the…

applicant is honest, is a hard worker, and will do the best he can to please. But what is there in the letter to make the employer say to himself: "Here is one man I want to interview"? What is there to cause him to set one letter aside to be followed up, while other letters slip, unchecked, through his fingers after a casual first reading?

We asked ourselves these questions. We said:

"What would step us up in his eyes?"

"How can we make ourselves seem exactly right for the job?"

"What special qualities would we need to be chosen from many others for consideration?"

And the answer came as clear as crystal: "Don't think of yourself, but of the job. Get its needs as clean-cut as you can from the advertisement. Then match yourself to them."

We actually only wrote one kind of letter—the letter in answer to a Help Wanted ad. We never felt that we could get a job started by writing a letter cold when there had been no job advertised. That procedure seemed so very difficult. All our correspondence was inspired by newspaper and trade journal advertisements.

Every day, wherever we were, our policy was to study the Want Ads in columns listed under: FE-…

MALE HELP WANTED. And it is surprising how much meaty data about a job may be hidden under a few terse words.

Incidentally, there is one very important factor to be mentioned in connection with the letter of the applicant. The tone of the reply must not be on the same terse, abbreviated level as the one of the ad. Employers, in listing their needs, do not have to bother for a second about making a good impression, or standing out from the crowd. If a man wants a secretary, he can simply put in the paper two or three lines saying: SECRETARY WANTED. APPLY BY LETTER, GIVING AGE, SAL­ARY EXPECTED, PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AND TELEPHONE NUMBER.

Well, if your letter had no more ring than this:

Have noted ad in Sunday Star. Am 35 years old, worked two years for Jones, and eight for Smith, salary expected is $22.50 per week. Telephone: Blank 3000.

If that were your letter, you would have to keep on noting ads in that Sunday Star, for you would prob­ably never hear from the gentleman looking for a secretary.

The employer is in the buyer's market—he is in a position to pick and choose. So any embellish­ment in his advertisement is worse than wasted. It even tends to make you suspicious. But you—…

like ourselves—are in the seller's market. We dis­play our services as wares, and the display must be as attractive as possible to make the buyer stop at our counter.

It is all the more surprising then, that the advertisements in the Situations Wanted Male and Situations Wanted Female are hardly more inspir­ing than those in the Help Wanted columns. There is a chance to catch the eye of a buying prospect. Perhaps it would be well to make some compari­sons before you run your ad. Instead of running three small ads stating your qualifications in brevity and abbreviation, you might find that it would serve your purpose better to run a single larger ad. The family looking for a housekeeper can, for example, say: G'D HOME PFD HGR WGS— which we ultimately translated to mean: "Good home preferred to higher wages." But a cryptic ad, such as that, on your part would hardly attract favor­able attention.

In answering the advertisements we stepped right into our job formula, and stayed there. In our letters we never made a conscious effort merely to sound different,  which to our minds is a smart aleck procedure rather than a smart one. But in trying to decide what the man or woman really…

wanted in an employee, our letter apparently often had a tone that lifted it out of the heap.

But this point can be more readily illustrated by plunging right into the correspondence itself. We shall take a selected list of advertisements that include such typical jobs as secretary, home econo­mist, demonstrator, selling, work in the home, companion and hostess. And in various cases we shall show letters that we wrote in answer. These letters are by no means offered as models. They may be good or they may be bad. All that we can say is that every one presented here did awaken employer interest.

One advertisement concerned electric cooking. It read:

HOME ECONOMIST-An electric range manufacturer has opening for pleasant alert woman who has had ex­perience promoting electric cooking. She must be able to go into homes of new customers to familiarize them with use of electric range. Also to assist at electric cooking schools. Modest salary to start but good opportunity for right person. Write and give qual., exp., etc. for possible interview. X-8g.

Of course such an advertisement could only be answered by a woman with qualifications approxi­mating those listed above. But there are numbers of such women and some of them are out of work.

Here again experience in an electric company, listed among our employable characteristics, stood us in good stead and emboldened us to answer this advertisement. No degree in home economics was specified so we took it for granted that in this case practical knowledge might take the place of a col­lege course. The question then was simply this: How could we make our letter stand out? We tried to put ourself in the place of that manufacturer. Above all what did he want to accomplish? Well, not only did he want his new customer to be satis­fied, he wanted her to be so enthusiastic about her new range that she would be a walking advertise­ment for his product. After a good bit of thought this is what we wrote:

X-83 Gentlemen:

My experience with the electric range has been such that I feel I can be of exceptional value to you in the position you advertise.

Three years of work with the XYZ Electric Company made a genuine electric cooking enthusiast out of me. So much so that after I left the company, due to a death in my family, I continued informal promoting of the electric range among my friends. And I could tell you of various electric range sales that could be traced to my well-founded enthusiasm.

I think I can honestly say that I know how to bring out all the good points of the electric range that make it so…

irresistible to women once they have learned to get the best out of it. I also believe I can satisfactorily answer any mistaken notions women may have about electric cooking, such as slowness or high cost of operation.

As for assisting at the electric cooking schools I think I could qualify. Although platform appearances were not part of my work at the XYZ Electric Company I would be very much on the alert to fill any demands required in your position.

Then we gave local references and a telephone number at which we could be reached. That job was offered to us two days later. Good hard think­ing and enthusiasm evidently won it.

Another advertisement read:

PART TIME SECRETARY: I am writing a thesis on biochemistry. I need a woman who can take dictation and who knows something of medical terminology. Write full details to UD-4Q.

In this instance, too, our answer was again based on fact. Two persons who have seen forty years each can total between them an impressive amount of living and experience! So we wrote:

UD-49

I am interested in a part time position, and could be available morning, afternoon, evening—or even at odd hours that might suit your convenience.

As a college graduate, I am familiar with chemistry and physics. As a surgeon's widow, I know something of medi­cal terms. Those that I do not know, I can learn, if you…

Page 159 will tell me in what book they are to be found.

My typing and stenography will pass severe require­ments. I work rapidly and the typed page looks profes­sional.

In answering this letter we had asked ourselves what would especially appeal to a busy college per­son writing a book. As we pictured the situation, he might be spending a certain amount of time in class work or in research, and consequently the periods that he might have available would be ir­regular. Our letter, then, underscored the point that we could accommodate our hours to his at any time. Also, since a thesis requires publication, we felt that it would be an extra claim on the job if we said that we could make the "typed page look professional."

That was one of the few jobs that was offered to us over the telephone. The man identified himself as a department head at a university and said that he paid a secretary by the hour. He could use us, it developed, from twenty to thirty-five hours a week, at fifty cents an hour. The time required would be approximately one to six on five after­noons, several hours on one or two evenings a week, and sometimes all of Saturday morning.

We happened to know someone with the iden-…

tical qualifications we had listed in our letter. So we sent her to see the professor, and she now has the job.

Another advertisement read:

COMPANION for woman, during convalescence. Must have culture, and be of calm temperament. Position to last from four to six months. No housework. CJ-191.

Here again we had a friend in mind who was ideal for the position, and who, in fact, served as the unconscious model for our descriptive letter.

None of our letters was written hastily. But over this one, we took quite a while to get the right mental slant on the job requirements. From the ad we formed this picture: There was evidently a woman, probably not very young, who had had a serious illness. The crisis was passed, but ahead of her and her family lay a long, slow convales­cence. To all of them, that time probably stretched out ahead as forever. Their nerves were shaken, they were tired out. And to one another they said: "Let's get someone to take this whole business in charge."

Of course, that picture could have been entirely out of line. But even if it were, it at least gave us the right, sympathetic attitude to stress in the letter we wrote.

Our reply said:

CJ-191

I wonder if I am not just the woman you are seeking. I have had enough practical nursing experience to keep an eye on the patient's condition to see that she does not get overtired or overexcited.

My disposition is even and pleasant. I am difficult to upset, and I try to fit into all sorts of conditions with ease.

My voice is low pitched, and clear, so that I can read soothingly to the ear of a tired patient. My interests are wide enough, so that I can talk on most subjects—such as music, books, clothes, sewing, sports.

I have enough of authority in my manner to be reassur­ing to a convalescent, but I am well aware when to stop. I would be willing to assume as much responsibility as you care to give me.

The morning after that letter was written, we were called to the telephone and told by a masculine voice that our letter was one of five that were being given serious consideration. After several minutes of very satisfactory talk, the man again mentioned the letter. So we asked: "Do you mind telling why you picked that letter?"

He replied: "Not at all. You sound as if you know the home conditions that exist when there is a long convalescence to face. We have got to have somebody with common sense and tact. My wife is ordinarily a very considerate person, but she cer­tainly is changed when she is ill. I believe you…

could handle her—better than we, anyway." So we made the appointment with happy results. Our friend got the job. And so far as the employer was concerned, he never knew that we had served as a willing amanuensis.

Another ad for a household position read:

HOUSEKEEPER—White, between 35 and 45, good home, two adults both in business. Full charge. $12-515 a week. Room with own bath. Sleep in. Use of car for marketing. Write full particulars and telephone number. R—Daily Courier.

Our letter said:

R—Daily Courier

Your advertisement in the Daily Courier sounds mighty good to a person who needs a home.

I just revel in taking care of a nice place. It is such a pleasure to organize the days, so that the work all gets done without confusion and the house always looks spic and span.

My cooking you will find satisfactory. I know cuts of meat, and how to buy so that the best table is set for the money spent. I can do fancy cooking when necessary. But I suppose you will want good, simple home fare most of the time. And there is where I shine.

I scarcely know what kind of particulars to include. But I feel sure that I can answer any questions to your satis­faction.

After all, who would resist a housekeeper who could buy "so that the best table is set for the money spent" and who reveled in keeping the…

place "spic and span"? Would not these assets go straight to the heart of a busy business couple? They would — and they did. For the answer to our letter was favorable.

Selling is an enormous field, one of the largest of all, in fact. And frequently, selling jobs are advertised in the daily papers. One Sunday we counted twenty-five, all beginning SALESLADIES or SALESMEN. We answered one that called for a hosiery saleswoman. This is what we said:

I have sold hosiery for five years, and built up a nice following, which I believe I could bring with me.

I lost my position, as did all the other salespeople, when the Hosiery Fashion Shop closed two months ago.

However, I have kept my hands soft and smooth, so that I would be ready for the next position. I never had a pair of stockings catch on my fingers when I was waiting on a customer!

I had very good success at the Hosiery Fashion Shop with high priced goods, particularly the evening sheers and the sport and spectator sport models.

I certainly would bring you— if you should care to em­ploy me— all the zest and interest and hard work that any saleswoman could have.

In this letter there are three points which we think make the applicant stand out as unusually desir­able for the job.

Bringing a following is almost routine with a…

good saleswoman, so we pass that with mere men­tion. Our pluses, however, were, (1) "keeping the hands soft and smooth"—showing our attitude of experience and carefulness as hosiery saleswomen; (2) "good success with high priced goods"—the most profitable unit of the stocking market; (3) "zest and interest"—which by the simple sincerity of expression revealed the feeling with which we, the applicant, would approach the job.

We got an interview from that letter. It had produced a friendly feeling for us, too, so that the tone of the interview was informal and reassuring. Indeed, the way was so pleasantly paved that we had no trouble at all in being very much at our ease—and therefore capable of putting our best forward.

Demonstrating is rather closely allied to selling, and it offers many opportunities, as reported. Many of its jobs are open to the person who has had no previous business experience. In answering an advertisement for a demonstrating job, the skill of the letter is a very important factor. We found an ad which read:

HAVE opening for one woman for demonstration work. Must have neat appearance and nice personality. Steady employment. Flat salary and bonus for sales. Write to Miss…

Clem, care of Surprise Salad Dressing Company, 21st and Browne.

This was another opportunity to draw a picture of the job. Since it was some sort of salad dressing, probably the demonstrator would be expected to go from store to store, to stand around in white or blue or pink, and serve to the customers little crackers with dabs of salad dressing on them. Or it might be that a simple gelatin salad would be prepared, and microscopic helpings topped with the salad dressing would be offered to all who came to the store to shop. In trying for the job, then, .we could follow one of two paths: We could think of some reason that would make us unusually de­sirable as salad demonstrators, or we might evolve and just make mention of some other way of sam­pling. The letter we ultimately wrote included both angles. It said:

Miss Clem

Surprise Salad Dressing Company

Browne Street at Twenty First

Dear Miss Clem:

I saw your advertisement in the Morning News, and became active at once. I went to six stores in my neighbor­hood (you can note my address below) and was unable to buy your salad dressing. Then I telephoned your sales department and found that I could get it at Blank's,…

which is nine blocks away.

Well, it was worth the trouble! It is the creamiest dress­ing I have ever seen, and is so full-flavored that it does not take much to give a fine seasoning.

Some friends were visiting me this afternoon, and I told them about it, and they had to taste it. I took a slice of cracked wheat bread, cut it in fingers and then each finger into fifths. That gave me twenty-five or thirty sam­ples to a slice of bread, and I wish you could have seen how pretty it looked—deep cream on a tiny brown square!

I know that I could demonstrate to please you, for any product you put out that tastes as good as your regular salad dressing will be easy to promote. It ought to sell like hot cakes!

May I come and talk to you about it?

Miss Clem gave us an urgent invitation to come and talk to her. She made an additional request, too. She said: "If you have any other ideas about demonstration, bring them with you."

We took a couple of suggestions of about the same caliber as those in the letter, and we won the job.

Positions as hostess are a little difficult for the older woman. Large tearooms frequently want two or three attractive looking, smartly groomed young women to act as general supervisors of dining room service. If the advertisement reads YOUNG or AGE 25, then the position is not for over-forty, even the best intentioned, most capable, most en-…

thusiastic over-forty in the world. That was one mistake we tried to avoid. Whenever the require­ments of an advertisement were definitely for a young person, we made no effort to qualify. We felt we would have had little or no chance, and what was the use, we thought, to try if two strikes were against us before we started.

But sometimes the advertisement is simply for a HOSTESS. That is different! Then there is at least an even chance for over-forty. And if over-forty is especially clever and skillful in putting forth her good points, these chances are better than even.

We saw this advertisement, featured in a Sunday newspaper.

HOSTESS—capable of handling waitresses and oversee­ing tearoom, seating 150. Must have pleasant personality, tact, be enterprising and experienced in tearoom. Write full details. X-543.

Our letter tried to show all the necessary require­ments of personality, tact, enterprise and experi­ence. Remember, in this instance, we were putting ourselves in the place of a woman of maturity who had had tearoom experience. Here is our letter:…