In keeping with last week’s theme of tough times, I wanted to share with you a letter we received a while back from a young guy looking for a job at Little Airplane.  Though we didn’t have a spot for Thomas, we were thoroughly charmed by his letter and, with Thomas’ permission, I am reprinting it here exactly as he wrote it.  When Little Airplane’s Tone Thyne first shared the letter with me, he read it aloud using a Shakespearean accent and you may want to read it the same way to experience the letter’s full effect.

Little Airplane Productions, Inc.

207 Front Street

New York, NY 10038

Dear Little Airplane,

It seemed my professional life was to be an inevitable tragedy.   With equal love for the collaborative and professional world of media production, the sense of expression and raw humanity found in songwriting, and the soul-feeding joy experienced only in working with children, it was as if my interests had betrayed me.  Surely, no job would require my trinity of qualifications, a fit I yearned for as I bounced from one internship to the next:  Radio?  A desolate place, nary a child’s soft giggle.  Children’s fashion photography?  Not a song to be sung nor string to be plucked.  Middle school musical productions?  Ah, so very close, but where is the competition, the professional drive?  My search was utterly futile, that is until I came across Little Airplane’s “Join Our Team” webpage.  It was as if a business-savvy, cherubic minstrel had placed his hand over mine and willed the mouse’s click.

You have advertised several possible job openings for which I am qualified.  As I mentioned above, rather dramatically, I have worked in a variety of fields, the combination of which has provided me with a skill set that would prove most valuable to your organization.  I am proficient in a number of computer programs, including, but not limited to, Photoshop, Adobe Audition, and InDesign.  My skills in Flash, however, are rather basic.  I have experience writing and recording music, both professionally and privately.  My creative experience also includes writing and illustrating a weekly comic strip for my college newspaper at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  I have developed an extensive knowledge of children’s educational wants and needs through my academics and my work experience as a part-time nanny, a camp counselor, and most recently, as a musical director for a series of grammar and middle school productions.  I have worked for companies such as Sirius Satellite Radio, Washington Square Films, Photovision Digital, Porchlight Productions, and Liquid Music Production.

I have attached my resume for your consideration.  It is my hope that I can meet with someone on your staff to discuss any opportunities for me to prove myself an asset as a member of your team.  Perhaps you’ll see it fit for me to join the Wonder Pets in their jubilant chant for TEAMWORK!  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Thomas Pederson

pederson.thomas@gmail.com