I got this email from my building’s Google group and I have to share it with you:

This is one of the best emails I’ve ever read. MJ will probably have 10 interviews lined up by tomorrow and 3 new gigs by Monday. Let’s break this down and see what you can incorporate into your own cover letters & emails:

In her first two sentences, MJ establishes that she’s looking for babysitting / nanny work on weekdays & evenings and that she’s a local, intelligent, and that she has experience working in a service business.

BTW, my “building” is actually 12, 14 story buildings with over 1,000 apartments. 50% of those apartments contain families with at least 1 child. MJ is targeting a large, relevant audience with addressable needs.

Next, MJ lays out her 6 years of babysitting & nanny experience and identifies specific tasks she can do (pickups / dropoffs / errands) which are all standard requests in our neighborhood.

MJ also highlights additional ways she can care for and contribute to a child’s development. She can teach them how to swim. She can keep them safe. She can feed them. She can entertain them. And she’s creative. These “pot-sweeteners” aren’t necessities, but they do make her stand out from the competition.

Finally, MJ reinforces two key characteristics (reliability & responsibility) that every nanny needs to have and closes with pricing & contact information.

I love everything about this email and hope you see how six sentences is all it takes to get people to notice you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a nanny or a Machine Learning engineer or a serial entrepreneur, the key to finding your next opportunity is communication.

P.S. Perhaps the most effective part of MJ’s email is that no other teenager in the building has ever done this before. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. So, shoot your shot!