Student's Bragging Cover Letter Goes Viral

(EndPlay Staff Reports) - Job seekers beware as you circulate cover letters, or you may just end up seeing it go viral for all the wrong reasons.

A New York University student's cover letter is spreading across the Web as an example of what not to do to land your dream job. The cover letter, posted on Gawker among other sites, is the student's attempt to get a job at banking firm J.P. Morgan.

Among his "selling points" is managing to bench double his body weight and do 35 pull-ups during the same semester that he achieves a 3.93 grade point average.

He also mentions both J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley in the same paragraph, which makes it look suspiciously like a cover letter that he's cutting and pasting, rather than one tailored to his desire to work at J.P. Morgan.

It contains generalities, not specifics about J.P. Morgan, and typos and awkward phrasing. It borders on bragging, though again in generalities.

"I have always felt that my time should be spent wisely, so I continuously challenge myself; I left Villanova because the work was too easy," he wrote.

Later on in the letter, as referenced by New York magazine , the job seeker seems to realize his unable to "hit the right tone."

"Please realize that I am not a braggart or conceited, I just want to outline my usefulness," he stated. "Egos can be a huge liability, and I try not to have one."

Forbes offers some advice such as keeping the cover letter concise and targeted, not a "laundry list of adjectives."

It's also good to give some indication that the job seeker has at least researched the company.

"Let your resume do the heavy lifting when it comes to selling your skills," Forbes stated.

Also proof the letter. And don't copy and paste.