What was that bit about Morgan Stanley when he wants to work at JP Morgan?

This guy shot himself in the foot, unfortunately. What a terrible cover letter.

even if he got the names correct, the letter it self made him sound like a tool. if this letter fell on my desk the first thing I would say is "if hes so damn perfect why couldnt he get the names right...maybe I will call him in just to see the 35 pull-ups"

I don't get why people think bragging about pull-ups and a desire for difficult work will make employers pick them. Kid just sounds like a douche. If he doesn't realize that, then I can't really feel bad for him. Blacklisted haha.

I loved the line about "being able to peform basic office functions with TERRIFYING PROFICIENCY."
Classic.

Can he not sue JP Morgan for making this public?

What happened to this kid? Did he get blacklisted or just made fun of?

I mean, he's enthusiastic and probably well intentioned. I don't understand how this sort of thing happens though...didn't he show this to one other person before sending it off? I mean, career services can be terrible, but I don't think even the most ill-informed office would green-light that.

The cover letter is almost a "check the box" sort of requirement. So long as it doesn't command attention, it will likely never be read.

My friend knows this kid hahaha. His resume is apparently shit

I'm all for auto dinging this kid for this go-round so he learns from his mistake, but fuck don't axe murder a kid while he's down. Let him grow up and give him another chance.

Wow. Kind of cruel for this kid, I feel annoyed at the unprofessional HR who passed this around. Everyone makes mistakes at the start of their job hunting process. They should not have their personal details shown around like this. Says worse things about the company than the inexperienced kid.

I have personally seen a lot worse applications and thought the cover letter should get some points for trying to be different than the norm. Specially when he states in the end about egos being a huge liability, that made me smile since cover letters are all about bragging anyway.

Well they are even bigger tools. But I guess that was expected. Hopefully they get a taste of their own medicine someday.

Whoever leaks this shit needs to be fired.

On a whole, I dont see a problem with this Cover Letter. Obviously the kid went overboard with the benching and pull up shit and could have def toned it down but seriously you are going to chain mail this shit? Just stupid. I would be mortified if I ever went back and reread my old letters, emails, etc when I first started trying to reach out to people, get a job. etc... (I cant imagine what my college entrance essay said...)

This isnt Jeffery Chang worthy.

Sounds like he just wanted to really stand out from the crowd, which is understandable given how insanely competitive this recruiting season has been...

I've helped a few kids with their cover letters this year, and some of the first drafts have been absolutely terrible. Maybe this kid just didn't have anyone helping him out. Plenty of guys in finance take oversized pride in how much they can bench - this guy's problem was that he thought it would sound great on paper.

I agree that whoever leaked this was an ass. Probably killed this kid's chances to get his foot in the door...

I work in investment banking and feel very sorry for the guy. I was actually forwarded the entire application package, which included the student's resume, cover letter, real name and contact information. He is literally a triple major with a cumulative 3.95 GPA at NYU. In a different time and a different place, this is the type of candidate who can earn interviews in the toughest of market environments and even potentially land a GS/MS offer. Aside from the JPM/MS gaffe, there were essentially no game-killers on the cover letter. Although the cover letter was certainly a bit tawdry, I would have interviewed this gentleman based on his resume and passion.

Heck, we all know the feeling when we want something so bad that we are willing to go the extra yard. IMO, those who haven't pushed themselves to the horizons of their limits haven't tried hard enough... I can honestly say I am one of the most professional and conforming member of my class - but even I can relate to what this kid felt. After all, who hasn't liked a girl so much that he has acted a little foolishly? Who hasn't tried to impress someone so hard that you go out of your way to get noticed? I honestly feel bad for this guy. Here is a guy who has done everything right academically and professionally - but wanted to go the extra step and craft an unique cover letter to get noticed. I certaintly cannot fault him on effort and intention. Because of one selfish person, this kid's future in investment banking is ruined. Sometimes the world isn't really fair.

this. +1

You make great points, VC. If you were to interview him, would you mention the cover letter? Just curious. He definitely has the passion, but my concern would be that if he landed interviews using this letter he wouldn't learn his lesson. Obviously that doesn't mean it deserved to get thrown around Wall Street, but nevertheless I'd be worried that it enforces the wrong message? Again, just curious to get your perspective.

Can someone please paste the text. I can't follow the link for some reason.

Good read. Just forwarded it around my office so everyone could get a good chuckle. Thanks!

He seems smart. I'm sure he'll end up at a top-notch quant fund and his co-workers will laugh about it with him.

Got this email earlier this week, too. This got around ridiculously fast, the joke was in the email itself as it had comments from each forwarder. By the time it got to me the chain had already reached over 300 people just in mine alone. He's definitely been blacklisted by a number of banks on the street.

Sad thing is that his resume was forwarded around with the cover letter and it was actually pretty impressive.

Honestly this is hilarious, but nothing even close to the Vayner video.

I mean there are so many gems in this letter though.

\"Can perform basic office functions with terrifying efficiency\\\"

\"That semester I achieved a 3.93, and in the same time I managed to bench double my bodyweight and do 35 pull-ups.\\\"

\"I am unequivocally the most unflaggingly hard worker I know, and I love self-improvement.\\\"

He also says he wants to work for Morgan Stanley later in the CL, even though it is a letter to JP Morgan.

Yup this works, thanks!

Reading the actual email chain was almost as good as the cover letter. I would have interviewed him based on his bench press alone.

This should serve as a reminder that IB is a small world and the degree of separation is very small.