Help me get off unemployment

August 29, 2007 7:41 PM

How should I go about applying for two jobs at the same company? Should I write two cover letters sent a few days apart, or one? And should I express more interest in the job that looks more challenging, even though I'd be perfectly happy in either? Unfortunately, there isn't time to wait for a response from the first, and it's too small a job market to ignore one.
posted by saffry to Work & Money (6 answers total)

How big is the company, and are the positions in the same department?

Whatever you do, do not write one cover letter for both jobs if they are in different departments (i.e. different hiring managers). We had some people do that at my last company and we didn't even look at them. We figured if you couldn't be bothered to make a separate cover letter for each, you're not really that interested. They phrased it as, "I am writing to apply for the XYZ position in Division W and the ABC position in Division D." If both jobs were in the same department, you might be able to get away with, "I am applying for position XYZ", and maybe mention that position ABC looks interesting too, but I'll leave that up to the hive mind. It's probably safer to do two separate application packages.
posted by ml98tu at 7:58 PM on August 29, 2007

Response by poster: The first contact for both is the same Human resources director. But the jobs are in different, unrelated departments at a small university.
posted by saffry at 8:31 PM on August 29, 2007

Call the HR director, and ask them what they would prefer.
posted by robcorr at 1:03 AM on August 30, 2007

I have no real advise, but if I were interviewing someone, I'd hope they'd say something about having interest in both jobs. I wouldn't even care if one were working for someone else in the same company. Let them sort it out.
posted by onedarkride at 4:49 AM on August 30, 2007

Best answer: I would write one cover letter. Emphasize how you want to work for the university, and then mention both jobs with supporting statements about why you would be a good fit for each.

Dear HR Director:

I'm excited that there is an opportunity to join the team at small university. My [good quality] would be a great fit with [the environment there? the academics? something specific].

I am interested in both [first position] and [second position]. I know that the two are quite different, but I feel as though I have valuable qualities to bring to each. The [first position] would make excellent use of my [general quality], and the [second position] would benefit from my [quality]. My [work ethic? flexibility?] would be an asset to either position and to the university as a whole.

I would appreciate an opportunity to learn more about the positions and to provide more information about my skills and abilities.

Thank you for your consideration.

You

This is just a quick general stab to give you some ideas....
posted by KAS at 6:58 AM on August 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

As robcorr said, calling the HR director seems like a good way to be sure you'll be giving them what they want to see.
posted by boreddusty at 7:19 AM on August 30, 2007