Hunter S. Thompson’s Creative, Fearless Job Application Letter
October 6, 2010 
Author 
In 
Robert Greene’s 50th Law, which says, in essence, to fear nothing is a concept most struggle with. Not Hunter S. Thompson – at least in the context of applying for a job with the Vancouver Sun. Seeking a new job, Thompson decided to pen the following letter to the new Sun editorial director as his application. Worth reading and far better than the average job application letter (hat tip to the Sun for sharing this with us).
To Jack Scott, Vancouver Sun
October 1, 1958
57 Perry Street
New York City
Sir,
I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I’d also like to offer my services.
Since I haven’t seen a copy of the “new” Sun yet, I’ll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn’t know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I’m not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley. By the time you get this letter, I’ll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I’ll let my offer stand.
And don’t think that my arrogance is unintentional: it’s just that I’d rather offend you now than after I started working for you. I didn’t make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he’d tell you that I’m “not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person.” (That’s a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.) Nothing beats having good references.
Of course if you asked some of the other people I’ve worked for, you’d get a different set of answers. If you’re interested enough to answer this letter, I’ll be glad to furnish you with a list of references — including the lad I work for now.
The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It’s a year old, however, and I’ve changed a bit since it was written. I’ve taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you’re trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I’d like to work for you.
Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews. I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don’t give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations. I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of.
It’s a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I’d enjoy the trip. If you think you can use me, drop me a line. If not, good luck anyway.
Sincerely,
Hunter S. Thompson
published in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 (Ballantine, 1997).
Was the last letter you wrote this creative, honest and dripping with personality?
Todd Hamilton replied | Oct 6, 2010 (1 comment)
This letter actually inspired me to send a brutally direct and intentionally arrogant job application for a position with a shipping co. when I was 23. The best part was that the CEO called me within 12 hours to invite me to interview. When I interviewed he told me flat out: “I received more than 200 applications for this position, you are the only person I called for an interview”.
I did get the job, but the CEO turned out to be a smaller scale version of Donald Trump with alcoholic rosacea and a tendency to spew vile rhetoric at all office visitors….
So, be careful, because this approach may appeal to an equally insane boss.
Josh Braaten replied | Oct 6, 2010 (32 comments)
As someone who has recently changed jobs, there is a certain freedom that comes with fully disclaiming who you are and what you stand for when interviewing for a position. You feel like YOU’VE been hired and not just some guy/gal who happened to interview better than the other candidates. Don’t like my style? I tried to warn you. :)
Thanks for sharing this great letter. I think it shows even those of us who have had a few personal branding victories that there is always another level to move towards.
TheReviewer replied | Oct 6, 2010 (6 comments)
i <3 hunter — he'd hate that I just used the <3 meme
Dave Richardson replied | Oct 7, 2010 (1 comment)
A class job application. I love the courage in the phrase, “I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of. ” And the phrase, “It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham “ made me laugh.
Thom Mitchell replied | Oct 7, 2010 (17 comments)
Hunter was definitely a unique character and his talents were ultimately not destined for daily newspaper journalism, however I do appreciate the fearlessness of the letter. I think the ultimate measure of the letter has to be whether or not it was effective?
Yes, it stood out, but he didn’t get the job. While I found it funny and interesting to read, I doubt I’d want to work with, manage or work for anyone who compared himself to the Marquis de Sade. I might call them in for an interview to just meet them, but I can’t see myself hiring someone who so enthusiastically displayed and highlighted their copious baggage.
Joe replied | Oct 9, 2010 (1 comment)
Yeah man! I can’t wait to write a letter like this. I’m off to Craigslist to search for cool sounding jobs I’m not qualified for and then knock their socks off with some gonzo cover letter.
Dylan replied | Oct 25, 2010 (3 comments)
Hunter S. Thompson, as in various other aspects, was before his time in this severely honest letter. I think everyone graduating in the near future, especially those interested in the journalism profession should take Thompson’s approach and make it their own for several reasons.
None of us, I repeat, none of us are going to get jobs right out of school. Scary as shit, and to no fault of our own, but if we are going to be turned down by 65 companies anyway, we might as well do it with honesty and showcase ourselves to a sickening degree. Get used to it guys, to get the job, you have to sell yourself the best way you can; Thompson clearly took the “take-it-or-leave-it” approach to this job. While this may not be the best way to go about the long and excruciating process of finding a job that awaits us all, the personality of the well-written letter couldn’t have been said better by a real live asshole.
-DK