How important is a cover letter?

[FitChick]

I am applying for a job and am wondering if, in today's corporate world, "robots" just scan resumes for the same key words as in their recruitment ads. Then after spitting out those resumes, the HR person reads the cover letter. Should I just cut and paste the bullet points into my resume, since I do have the relevant experience?

 

It used to be that my stellar cover letter got my foot in the door because it wasn't the same drivel as everyone else.

 

Everything is submitted in online format these days so it's hard to be creative.

[pink_sugar]

A cover letter is necessary for most professional jobs these days. A lot of times a resume will be discarded without one.

[bathtub-row]

I personally couldn't care less about cover letters but the above poster is probably correct - I think a lot of people do care. I don't even read them because I think they're scripted and boring.

 

However, what's not important to one person may be a huge deal for someone else. I'd say that if a company specifically requests a cover letter, it's a must. Also, it's probably better to err on the side of having the letter instead of not having it. Having a cover letter isn't going to cause you to lose you a job (unless it's poorly written), whereas not having one very well could.

[reardon]

I understand the importance of cover letter as your marketing tool why your employer should hire, but you don't have copy and paste it. You can create your cover letter by being true to yourself and to your employer. If you don't have experience about the job that you are applying but willing to learn, then write it honestly. After all, your performance will prove if you are telling the truth in your cover letter.

[Emilia]

I think it probably depends on whether the job is advertised through an agency or directly an employer. An agency is less likely to care about a cover letter and I never bother. After all, they won't require one if you register your CV through their website.

 

When it's a direct employer, cover letters can matter more but have to say I still don't bother. My job is quite technical, hard skills are usually what my suitability is judged on rather than soft ones.

[d0nnivain]

You can't go wrong by including one but you can be immediately disregarded for not having one.

[TAV]

A good motivation in your cover letter will get noticed and is basically the first impression that you make (like a handshake in RL). Make sure you include key words - which match the words in the ad to a tee - in both your cover letter ánd the CV. Because, yes, a lot of resumes are read by people who have no clue about the job you are applying for and only check for matches on key words and in my business (IT) a lot of companies even have a little computer program that matches key words to select the best CVs.

[Thruster]

You can't go wrong by including one but you can be immediately disregarded for not having one.

 

 

above is 100% true

[GorillaTheater]

You can't go wrong by including one but you can be immediately disregarded for not having one.

 

This is my take. In the hiring I've done, I may spend all of 5 seconds scanning the cover letter to see if it says anything interesting (no points off if it doesn't), but no cover letter at all? They can't be bothered with something that basic? Helps me weed through the stack of applications I have sitting on my desk.

 

And believe me, in the recent few years it has been a *stack*.

[d0nnivain]

I'm with GorillaTheater. I won't even consider a candidate that doesn't have a cover letter.

[Emilia]

This is my take. In the hiring I've done, I may spend all of 5 seconds scanning the cover letter to see if it says anything interesting (no points off if it doesn't), but no cover letter at all? They can't be bothered with something that basic? Helps me weed through the stack of applications I have sitting on my desk.

Even if their CV is exactly what you need? You will chuck them because they didn't do the 'dear sir/madam, I want a job'?

[d0nnivain]

Even if their CV is exactly what you need? You will chuck them because they didn't do the 'dear sir/madam, I want a job'?

 

Yup. The devil is in the details. Even if everything else looks good the lack of a cover letter to me screams "lazy" and "I don't care about the little things."

[Emilia]

Yup. The devil is in the details. Even if everything else looks good the lack of a cover letter to me screams "lazy" and "I don't care about the little things."

Man, I've always thought this was the right way for me to go and this has just confirmed it. I'm serious when I say that I don't want to work for an organisation that makes decisions based on 'cover letter or not'. Job search IS a two-way process.

 

I hired people over the years and have taken part in hiring processes for other departments. We have never ever bothered with cover letters but looked at relevant experience. HR usually doesn't even pass them on.

[GorillaTheater]

Yup. The devil is in the details. Even if everything else looks good the lack of a cover letter to me screams "lazy" and "I don't care about the little things."

 

Right. Because chances are that well over half of the applicants meet or exceed the requirements for the position, so at that point it becomes a matter of nuance: attention to detail (i.e., cover letters) and personal interaction (i.e., would they be a good "fit" for the people they'll be working with).

 

In a sense, you start out with "science", which descends fairly quickly through "art" on to "reading chicken entrails".

[Emilia]

Right. Because chances are that well over half of the applicants meet or exceed the requirements for the position, so at that point it becomes a matter of nuance: attention to detail (i.e., cover letters) and personal interaction (i.e., would they be a good "fit" for the people they'll be working with).

 

In a sense, you start out with "science", which descends fairly quickly through "art" on to "reading chicken entrails".

But a cover letter isn't attention to detail, it is usually mass produced copy/paste that you can automatically add to your letter with the click of a button online (depending on how your hiring is done).

 

I can honestly say that a lot of companies don't hire like this - BUT admittedly it does depend on the industry. I usually apply to jobs through LinkedIn anyway.

[CarrieT]

When I used to screen cover-letters - personally, before robots - I would always look for well-written sentences, free of mistakes, and intent of purpose.

 

Not sure how they handle things now.

[d0nnivain]

A lot of factors go into this.

 

Part of it for me is that it's MY company. I started it. My name is on the door. It's MINE. If a new employee is going to represent my brand to the world, they are going to do it MY way.

 

Gorilla & I also happen to be in the same industry. Without mentioning what that business is, let's just say presentation & cover letters carry a LOT of weight in the day to day operations so somebody who can't be bothered to write one is in the wrong field.

 

Maybe it's different in large conglomerates but to me the personal touch goes a long way. Even when I was a babe in the business, my cover letters got my jobs I wasn't quite qualified for because they showed I had potential so I grew into higher responsibilities faster than many of my peers.

 

Again to Gorrilla's point, the well crafted personalized cover letter addressing the ad or the job requirements is also going to rocket that sender to the top of the pile faster than a cut & paste job.

 

Hence my original assessment: You can't go wrong including one but you can mis-step by omitting it so why not.

[GorillaTheater]

But a cover letter isn't attention to detail, it is usually mass produced copy/paste that you can automatically add to your letter with the click of a button online (depending on how your hiring is done).

 

I can honestly say that a lot of companies don't hire like this - BUT admittedly it does depend on the industry. I usually apply to jobs through LinkedIn anyway.

 

I tend to agree that a lack of a cover letter is not an entirely rational basis on which to weed out potential applicants. But on the other hand, when you have to narrow 30-or-so qualified applicants down to 4 or 5 interviews, you have to have some kind of tool. I look at how long they've been at prior employers (we want folks who'll tend to stick around), whether they've done exactly what they'd be doing in the position, whether they appear to have stable personalities, etc. But we all know that it's guesswork in the end. Just because they attach a cover letter doesn't necessarily mean they're good about attention to detail at all, but it leaves you something tangible, however minor, to take into account.

[GorillaTheater]

Gorilla & I also happen to be in the same industry. Without mentioning what that business is...

 

 

A lot of folks around here know what I do. So, "oops".

[Emilia]

I think this is why LinkedIn is so popular, you can have a feel for someone relatively easily - as long as they have a filled out profile, obviously. I get contacted through it a lot and in my industry it's how everyone communicates.

 

But then again my job is fairly specialist and most people don't understand it so it's judged very differently.

[pink_sugar]

I was actually told by a recruiter that in the 5 resumes he received, mine was the only error proof one. He said resumes with all kinds of errors are a ticket to the wastebin. He showed me some of the other resumes received...they were down right awful and I'm not even a recruiter.

[Eternal Sunshine]

In my field, nobody really cares.