Below is my Cover Letter for Arieli and Company. I think that Arieli and company is a fascinating company, who I would absolutely love to work for. I thought my cover letter was pretty good, and I really enjoyed talking about the “mission” behind a company, as well as about stakeholder vs shareholder capitalism. I thought I’d put this here so that I can refer to it in the future.
I didn’t get the job, but I currently work at Bain and Company, so I guess it all came out in the wash. Just goes to show, doesn’t matter how much effort you put in, sometimes the numbers aren’t in your favour. But if you put the effort in, the numbers are more likely to be in your favour.
Dear Arieli and Company,
I am writing to you to apply for the Analyst role. I am a recent graduate from the University of Cambridge, and I finished my Part I in Philosophy (2.i) and my Part II in Natural Sciences (Psychology) (2.i) where I chose the Behavioural Psychology module, essentially studying a combined subject which has built both my logical and critical reasoning skills and my analytical capabilities.
I believe that Arieli and Company would be the ideal place for me to continue to learn and grow due to the challenging conceptual work and the research and analysis I would get to practice. I am confident that Arieli and Company can offer many learning opportunities and objectives, as well as feedback on performance and delivery so that I am better able to help your clients and be more valuable to the team and the Consultants I support.
Working for Arieli and Company, I hope to learn how to help organisations perform optimally, in part through the application of my leadership experience from positions in international and collegiate rugby and as Head of Security at Queens’ May Ball. I also hope to learn how to build a culture of innovation, a process I am particularly interested after my experience on my gap year, working with Cargill’s prototyping team in their innovation hub. This experience also gave rise to my interest in the process of changing corporate culture, especially in large, complex, and established companies where there is a lot of inertia to overcome when making any kind of cultural change.
One clear trend that is impacting the world of work today is the recent rise in the number of people working from home. I believe that many organisations have successfully shifted their working online, even if they aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunities that working from home brings. So instead I would like to talk about some more subtle and longer lasting changes. First, I would like to talk about a search for meaning that is permeating every aspect of our lives at the moment, from the products we buy and the banks we bank with to the foods we eat and, most interestingly, who we work for. An article in Financial Times from January found that millennial consultants yearned for meaning at work more than their colleagues from other generations. For consumers, the large shift to vegetarianism and veganism that many are making is part of this search for meaning, as is the demand for pension funds to divest and calls for companies to become more eco-friendly. The companies that succeed in this environment will be the ones with missions that go beyond pure profit. A corporation with a raison d’etre will attract more talent and will connect with customers better, creating relationships that endure.
The second trend I would like to talk about is a pushback against shareholder capitalism. The 50th anniversary of the publication of Milton Friedman’s seminal article on the social responsibility of business was last Sunday. To celebrate this occasion, the New York Times showcased the various opinions of Chief Executives and Nobel Laureates on this topic. The sentiment, generally, was that businesses could not get away with believing that their sole responsibility is to increase profits. The myopic view that business can avoid engaging in social and environmental issues is part of the reason that we are where we are now, with regard to discrimination (racial, gender, or other), inequality and environment. Fixing these issues created by businesses requires action by businesses that goes beyond the mere ticking of checkboxes to increase ESG ratings.
These two trends are very closely related. Consumers desire more meaning, and corporations are being asked to have more responsibility towards the whole of their stakeholder ecosystem. A solution to these problems can be found in the creation or rediscovery of an overarching mission, and a pursuit of this mission that includes all of the social and environmental challenges that go with it. As noted in the September issue of the Harvard Business Review, an essential step in implementing an ESG program is identifying a corporate purpose and building a culture around it. This kind of change isn’t easy, and will require careful process planning and management, but it is essential if corporations want to be able to thrive in the long term.
I believe that I bring a combination of experience and mindset that set me apart from other candidates. I strongly believe in constant and consistent learning, a commitment that I engage with publicly by publishing a summary of the interesting psychology and business articles that I read each week on my website. This exercise keeps me motivated to keep learning more, and showcases what I found most interesting each week, as well as making me think more deeply about what I learn. My experience growing up in Geneva has strengthened my intercultural communication abilities, not just because of the French and Swiss cultures that meet there, but because of the international community there too. With regard to the skills that I have gained while studying, I think that the combination of high level thinking and communication from Philosophy with advanced analytical capabilities and knowledge of behavioural science from Natural Sciences make me ideal for this role.
In case it isn’t clear by now, I would like to candidly say that I think that the work that Arieli and Company do is fascinating. Combining business, psychology, leadership, and innovation would be incredible, I can guarantee that I would be a passionately dedicated employee and a valuable addition to the team.
I understand that this role has a start date of August 2021, however I am available immediately as a previously agreed contract at a boutique strategy consultancy fell through due to the Coronavirus pandemic and recession. Thank you for taking the time to read my cover letter and attached CV.
I hope to hear from you soon, kind regards,
Callum Macdonald
Callum Macdonald 