Finding a good-paying job with an ideal schedule is difficult, especially amid a pandemic. But this young man from Leesburg, Virginia, knew just what to say to impress his potential employer.
Be sure to reach the end of the story to read Ryan’s heartfelt letter.
Some may think that cover letters are obsolete, but not Ryan Lowry. In fact, the 20-year-old was able to use it to his advantage.
Earlier this week, Ryan penned a handwritten cover letter addressed to his “future employer.” He shared it on LinkedIn, where it has gone viral with over 7 million views and 176,000 likes!
In the heartfelt open letter, Ryan wrote that he has autism. And like any other jobseeker, he listed several qualities that he believes will make him a great asset to an organization.
Ryan shared that he has “a unique sense of humor” and is “gifted at math.” He also emphasized that he is a quick learner.
He also made clear the specific career path he wanted to explore.
“I am interested in a job in animation, or in IT,” Ryan wrote. “I realize that someone like you will have to take a chance on me. I don’t learn like typical people do.”
Ryan admits that he would need a mentor to teach him, but claimed that he catches on fast.
“I promise that if you hire me and teach me, you’ll be glad that you did,” Ryan pledged. “I will show up every day, do what you tell me to do, and work really hard. Please let me know if you would like to talk about this with me. Thank you.”
Unsurprisingly, his parents, Rob and Tracy, are extremely proud of their son for his intelligence and courage.
Since posting the letter last month, he has been receiving numerous calls from different organizations. His first two Zoom meetings were with Exceptional Minds—a nonprofit and post-production studio for people with autism—and Deluxe Animation Studios. Thankfully, they both went well, according to Tracy.
Ryan has also been chatting with Dell about its neurodiversity programs. He has been in talks with tech giants Amazon and Microsoft as well.
“Ryan is capable of so much,” Rob said in an interview with TODAY Health. “The goal here for Ryan is independence. He can live in our basement for the rest of his life. We’d love it. But Tracy and I are going to die someday, and he needs to be able to live independently. We’re cautiously optimistic.”
Rob helped his son set up a LinkedIn account last month, hoping that he would make a few connections and learn about business and responsibility.
Turns out, he would get more than that.
Two days later, Ryan got over 2,000 invitations to connect from professionals across the globe. He also received messages from other LinkedIn users with autism and those who are parents to children with the condition. Many of them said that his honesty has been a source of inspiration to them.
LinkedIn actually shut Ryan down because there was so much activity going on with his profile. But the career site was quick to restore it after confirming that there was nothing untoward happening.
Ryan is currently getting animation mentoring at “A Place to Be,” a nonprofit based in Middleburg, Virginia.
The future is looking bright for Ryan, and Tracy is very excited to see what’s in store for her son.
“It’s raw, it’s beautiful, they all need a chance,” Tracy told WJLA. “What every mom wants is for their children to grow up, have a life, support themselves and be independent.”
Any employer would be lucky to have a brave soul like Ryan on their team. With the amount of attention he has gotten, we believe that we’d be seeing a new job update on his profile very soon!
Please share this story to inspire people with autism and their families to reach for their dreams.