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Don't you wish there was The Rule for job applications?
Unfortunately, there isn't.
Take cover letters. Should you write one? What should it say? How should you send it?
I asked several human-resources professionals what they preferred.
Some said they tend not to read cover letters. In organizations that require online applications, some said they look only at their formatted application.
Others said they'll look at cover letters but tend to glance only at the first few lines.
And a third group said absolutely write a cover letter. They want to see evidence of enthusiasm, personality, communication skills and other attributes or connections that might not jump out from the résumé or application form.
In an ideal situation, the job hunter can find out the organization's preference. But sometimes you need to make a best guess.
Office Team surveyed 150 senior executives about how valuable they considered cover letters to be. Twenty-three percent said very valuable; 63 percent said somewhat valuable; and 14 percent said not valuable at all.
Office Team suggested that good reasons to write cover letters would include the ability to explain résumé gaps or skill transferability.
Gordon Smith, a counselor at Lee Hecht Harrison in Overland Park, advises job hunters to send cover letters in as many ways as possible: snail mail, e-mail, e-mail attachment, fax.
So, to be safe, send a cover letter. Limit it to one page. Reinforce how perfect you are for the job. Ideally, address it to a specific person by name (spell it correctly). And sparkle.
Then don't worry about it.
By Zomack on April 14, 2009 6:01 PM
Why do surveys like this(the Office Team one) always regard the preferences of "senior executives"? These execs hire other execs or, at the very "lowest", Directors and Managers.
The majority of job seekers out there need to know how lower-level supervisors and mid-level managers view cover letters since those at these organizational levels are the relevant hiring managers.
So, show me a survey of "150 middle-managers", or "150 Team Supervisors", or even "150 HR recruiters looking to fill entry and mid-level positions".
My take on this, by the way is simple: it can't hurt to send one!
By Kittrick on April 14, 2009 6:45 PM
I have been in the hiring process for lower-level workers, and I would say that cover letters were really important to give more insight into who you'd potentially be hiring. Make sure that you stay on-topic for the job you are applying for, and tailor the cover letter for each and every job.
No one wants to hear about your cow milking skills, or how many times you've mesmerized audiences with your puppetry skills if you are applying for a computer network admin position. I've actually seen those expressed on cover letters!
Generic cover letters are corny, and I've passed up resumes if it seemed like the applicant didn't really care enough to tailor the cover letter to the job being applied for. The same goes for the resume. Hope that helps!
By Zomack on April 15, 2009 10:09 AM
Thanks, Kittrick.
I've been a hiring manager for some time and I've taken an approach that seems similar to yours: I'll at least start to read every cover letter but will toss it if I see that it's not targeted and/or is one of those canned templates. I may or may not automatically toss the resume, too(usually I do) but even in cases that I don't it does leave me with a bad initial impression regardless of how good the resume is.
I think it's also a different scenario when you're talking to HR recruiters -- people that see hundreds of resumes a week. For better or worse, almost none of those that I know actually read cover letters for sheer lack of time. They might do so once the candidate pool has been narrowed quite a bit, but even then it's just a quick glance.
BUT even these people I've talked to have said that when they DO come across a truly effective cover letter it does make a big impression.
By Ron on April 16, 2009 5:44 PM
Sometimes the difference between candidates comes down to brass tacks, and one of those tacks may be a cover letter. The same goes with a courtesy "thank you" note after the interview. With all of the competition for jobs in this economy, following proper parlance(as long as it's done in correctly and in good taste) can only help potential candidates.
By Noreen on April 22, 2009 9:36 PM
I completely disagree with the statement "send cover letters in as many ways as possible: snail mail, e-mail, e-mail attachment, fax" - as someone who does the vast majority of hiring in my organization, I can tell you that if someone sends a resume more than once, they are automatically out - I don't have patience for desperation, and sending the same resume in multiple ways only serves to reinforce that notion. Follow the guidelines outlined by the organization, and/or hand it directly to someone you know through informal channels. You can always follow up with an email confirming receipt, but do NOT send it again in another format. Just my 2 cents!
By Thomas Garrod on April 24, 2009 9:19 AM
Just doing the math, it seems the cover letter is a must: 33% look for it, 33% check the first lines, and 33% don't check it.
That last 33% won't hurt me, but the first 66% just might. The hint here is to make sure your cover letter has a nice hook at the start.
It can be difficult sowing enthusiasm into a cover letter in this market, but it does seem to be important.
By susan on April 24, 2009 9:45 AM
Do you have any suggestions and examples that would be helpful and actually of use?
Also anything in particular that stands out about candidates that you tend to hire?
By Steve H on April 28, 2009 9:46 PM
I am a successful freelance consultant and therefore I am CONSTANTLY a job applicant (for my next gig). Eight yrs ago, I was a dot-com layoff and my wife encouraged me to try consulting until I got a job. I agreed to seek a job if I didn't have consulting work in 6 months. I have not had a "job" since 2001. My approach, without a portfolio other than my work history and my background, was to "invent" a path and then follow it. To get work, I always ALWAYS called (by phone) to the top of companies. I then followed up the conversation with a thank you letter (which is sorta close to a cover letter, I guess). I never used (or use) a resume. Instead, I used (and still use) a bio, and now, my references. I make it my mission to find out who to approach, what that person does, what that company's competitors do, and then make my pitch relevant to that individual person. Also, I attend the major conferences in my industry and make it my point to get on the conference program as a speaker. Use conferences to prospect (all your clients are in one place!) Befriend the editors of magazines that you read and offer to write for them (for free). As a result, I have never had to advertise. It took eight years, but I am now at the top of my industry and have had more than forty clients (all of them are referenceable). You (yes you) could be too. Don't get caught up in thinking that you "belong" in a lower-to-mid-level job. Be diligent, observant and DON'T be lazy. That's my £0.015 (~2 cents) worth. - Steve
By Deb on May 1, 2009 5:41 AM
Steve,
Your comments are really inspiring. My husband travels all of the time, leaving me to manage everything and our two kids. As I used to be a contract edit/writer who wanted to work from home, anyway, I've struggled to let myself do that. Whenever I have applied for onsite jobs, the gap in the resume is a problem. Like you, I've found the best results from phone calls, sometimes to companies who aren't looking for someone to hire. However, I'm still having trouble getting offsite work. I'm now working to upgrade my skills and portfolio. It seems that people on the job boards want many technical skills and recent experience. I like the idea of freelancing again. Do you have any other advice about getting the contracts once I've reached the right people? I like the thank-you follow-up idea.
By MILKI ABDULLAHI on May 7, 2009 3:14 PM
VERY HELPFUL