What Else Do You Want?

A large engineering company announced that it was moving to flexible working hours. I read the news and immediately ignored the important part. I did not think about productivity, policy, or company culture. I thought, very simply: please hire me.

At that stage of my career, job advertisements had already taught me the correct vocabulary. Team player. Analytical. Flexible. Responsible. Fast learner. Every company seemed to want the same perfect person, and every applicant was expected to become that person on paper.

I opened a blank page and imagined the shortest possible application. I work well with teams. I can work flexible hours. I think analytically. I am responsible. Also, I love you. What else do you want?

I laughed and closed the page. I never sent it, of course, but the joke felt more truthful than many real cover letters. Real applications often made me sound like a machine built from adjectives.

The truth was much simpler. I wanted interesting engineering work, I wanted to learn, and I wanted to work with people who knew more than I did. Like most young engineers, I also wanted someone to open a door and say, “All right. Show us what you can do.”

A few days later, I found another job advertisement with a long list of requirements. Several technologies, experience, teamwork, independence, communication, flexibility, and the usual demand for people who could apparently do everything at once. For a moment, I felt tired before even applying.

Then I translated the list into normal language. Can you learn? Probably. Can you work with people? Usually. Can you solve problems? Sometimes, after complaining first. Can you arrive at work? Yes.

That version sounded more like me, so I applied.

Then came the familiar silence. I checked my email too often and opened every new message immediately. Advertisements, newsletters, friends, and more advertisements appeared, but not the company.

Eventually I stopped checking every few minutes. There would be other applications, other interviews, and other doors. The imaginary letter, however, stayed with me.

Team player. Flexible. Analytical. I love you.

It was not professional, which was probably why it sounded human.