Are You Hiring?

Note: This is an actual letter posted on an actual job search site.  I thought it might get more visibility here.  Who knows where or how the next wonderful development in life might begin?  And seriously... If any of you know of professional possibilities, go take a look at the resume that goes with this.  I'm fairly sure that I am the only Adelaar Gryphem listed on any major job board.  ;-)
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From:   Adelaar Gryphem

To:       My Next Employer

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  I hope you’ll find it interesting.  As you’ll see, this is not your typical cover letter.

Let’s start with this… Even though it is a fantastic name, Adelaar Gryphem is a pseudonym.  It is the name under which I write my blog, ‘Gryphem’ (www.gryphem.blogspot.com).  I use my pseudonym to avoid confusion.  It would not be difficult for you to determine my legal name, if you really wanted to.  My purpose in being Gryphem is not secrecy, but separation. 

You see, I have a job-seeking account under my actual name.  That one is more practical, and more likely to be viewed by traditional hiring authorities.  My real-name account presents my real accomplishments in a practical, career-oriented format.  It is quite factual.  My real-name account supports my career in a conventional way.

The presentation of Adelaar Gryphem, on the other hand, is full of hope, beyond-reasonable aspiration.  As Adelaar, I seek more freedom and creativity, more interaction with people, more travel to more places in the process of earning an income.  This account represents my search for an ideal. 

I am currently employed, and I make a decent salary.  I greatly appreciate my job.  I don’t know what I would have done over these past two years without it.  Even so, what I would love is a job that demands imagination and ingenuity, that involves history and travel and the satisfaction that comes with solving a problem or building something that didn’t exist before I created it. 

Thanks to my current position, I have been able to take on a lot of financial responsibility.  Not extravagances, but responsibilities.  Because of the constraint of those responsibilities, I’ve had difficulty finding my perfect next position, the new job I will truly love.  So I continue to work, gratefully, in my military organization... but I dream of greater things.

I have traveled much of the world, and loved every minute of it.  I want to travel more, especially in Europe.  I am beginning to learn German in the hope of being able to speak it one day in Germany and Austria.  I would be open to travel throughout North and South America, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia and the Pacific…  almost anywhere, to tell the truth. 

I have been a teacher, and I loved that job.  I found great joy in persuading young people to open their minds to the amazing world all around them, in showing my students the wonders of history and literature and music and nature.  I left that profession after 16 years only because certain administrators cared more about statistics than people, because those administrators were demanding that I do things to squelch creativity instead of encouraging it.

My areas of particular interest, beyond what I’ve already stated, include the ocean, religion (in a non-dogmatic sense), geography, and conversation.  I love the forest, manatees, Celtic and classical music, impressionist art, baseball, folklore, maps, old buildings, good movies, and people from different places who are curious and good-natured.  I love my family most of all. 

I am geographically constrained in my search for the perfect position.  Home ownership, my spouse’s job, and local responsibilities mean that I need to remain in the Norfolk, Virginia area… although Washington State and Florida are not out of the question if the perfect job were to present itself.

My ideal job might combine travel and teaching, although I am open to opportunities in either field separately, or in something totally different but fascinating.  It would be magnificent if my ideal job were to involve responsibilities of great significance.  In the past I have been blessed by the opportunity to keep the world safe (Navy) and build the future (teaching).

There are a few jobs out there that might fit the bill, except for my financial obligations.  Because of those obligations I need to maintain an income at or near my current level.  Believe me, I’d love to throw it all to the wind and join the Peace Corps, or start a coffee shop, or lead tours through Europe, or build patios, or even go back to teaching – overseas. 

Because I take my responsibilities seriously, I continue to give my best hours each day to the organization where I work.  I affirm my support for those who defend our freedom, and I am honored to be a part of it.  Given a real alternative though, after more than a couple of decades in defense, I would choose to spend the hours of my days traveling in a different direction.

I am old enough to have a lot of professional and personal experience, and young enough to do any reasonable job.

I am a professional with the demonstrated ability to do almost anything.  I learn fast.  I can follow or lead.  My enthusiasm for the right opportunity will astonish you.

So now that you see what I’m trying to accomplish, are any ideas coming to mind?  I’d love to discuss the possibilities.  Give me a call.  Oh, and thanks for reading Gryphem.

R/

Adelaar