expensify-cover-letter.txt

Hi Expensify,

Don’t hire me. I don’t have the background you’re expecting. At all. 

I’ve never done “customer service.” I’ve never worked in a business. I’ve never used Expensify. 

My career stops have included: second grade teacher, PhD in anthropology, college professor, and researcher at a foundation. 

So I’m seriously probably the worst candidate you could ever imagine. 

Why am I even applying, then? 

I’m applying because in all the work that I have done, I’ve been the person who helps people around me see the possibilities in technology. And I want to do more of that. 

Here’s an example: while working on my PhD, I led the Mexican Migration Field Research Program, a research project that involved 30 student researchers traveling to rural Mexico to conduct interviews. The project had always used paper surveys, but the cost and aggravation of mailing over 1000 surveys of 50+ pages each across international borders was not worth it. So I helped MMFRP to transition to digital surveys. It was, as you might imagine, a lot of work to make this shift and ensure that everything worked properly (which it did, miraculously). In shifting from paper to tablets, we saved money, time, and many, many headaches. 

Ok, I’ll drop the shtick. I’m not the worst candidate you could ever imagine (at least I hope I’m not). 

I do think I have customer service experience, though it wasn’t necessarily called that when I was doing. My time working with students, for example. Also the time I spent working with nonprofit organizations in my time on the research team at the Oregon Community Foundation. I was in contact with organizations across the state, making sure we got the data we needed. These organizations, whose technological prowess was, let’s say, limited needed, let’s say, lots of help, even on tasks as simple as sending us properly formatted spreadsheets. So I met them where they were. I emailed, I called, I met them in person. And here’s something else I did, : I recorded a series of narrated videos showing exactly they needed to do. Now, I’m not saying it was a perfect solution (many still didn’t get it), but it helped many of my clients. And, just as important, it helped them to feel good about working with the research team at OCF. 

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that I’m the only person with an anthropology Ph.D. applying for this job (if I’m not, I’d love to know who that other weirdo is!). But I actually think it’s a benefit, not just a weird footnote. You ask about analyzing customer behavior and recommending solutions. Well, as anthropologist I can do that. Yes, my dissertation may have studied people  (Latino youth soccer players) unlikely to be Expensify customers, but I know how to study people in their natural contexts. 

Do you want to know about my research methodology for how I’d approach the problem? Well, I’d develop a list of the various types of customers. I’d do some informal conversations to help me come up with a more in-depth interview guide. I’d do the interviews with a representative group of Expensify customers. I’d analyze them using qualitative analysis software. I’d write a dissertation using my findings. Just kidding, but I’m glad you’re still paying attention! I’d present my findings in an online report (apropos of nothing, I also do website design on the side). 

You also asked how I’d spend a month of time with no restrictions. If I had a month to do whatever I wanted, I would work on building my side project, PDX Child Care, a website to help people in Portland find care for their kids. I originally built it to solve a problem I had, and I’m now working with a couple friends to make it into a sustainable business. I’ve been working nights and weekends on the project, but I’d love to be able to dive into it for a month straight. A month wouldn’t be anywhere near enough (we have plans to rebrand it and expand beyond just child care to other types of activities), but it would be a good amount of time to make serious progress. 

This actually gets to my goal in applying to work at Expensify: I’m extremely entrepreneurial, but I don’t have any background in business. Long term, I want to develop PDX Child Care into a successful business and work for myself. Is it too up front to say that? Am I supposed to say that I want to stay at Expensify forever and ever? Well, too late, I guess (though I would like to stay for a while!). In any case, I would love to work for you all, learning myself all while helping your customers to use Expensify. 

So, you tell me, am I the worst candidate for the job? I hope not!

Cheers,

David

P.S. Heard about you guys on Mac’s List. Yesterday. And then I realized you had posted the job on September 30. Oops. Hope I’m not too late. Ta ta.