I might be a little odd on this one, but I've been in large non-tech companies for a long time, hiring tech (mostly finance technology and data engineering), so

I might be a little odd on this one, but I've been in large non-tech companies for a long time, hiring tech (mostly finance technology and data engineering), so here's my take - I like cover letters. They're an opportunity for you to tell me how your skills transfer to the position, why you're interested in it, and that you can communicate clearly in writing. The transferability piece is important because it's rare a candidate has all of the bullets in the description, but we all know critical thinking and tech skills are broadly applicable - or at least I know that, but I need to know that you're looking at it that way. It also helps you avoid the HR filter with me (more on that in a bit). Your interest is important because I think there's a lot of flexibility between tech skills and subject matter/domains. The issue is, we all like some and all hate some, so tell me why you like this one. This is sometimes a tough one because HR job descriptions sometimes are generic and don't explicitly provide this info. In that case, take a broad view and tell me what domains are interesting to you. If it doesn't align with your interests, you may get rejected, but do you really want to end up in a role working with subject matter you can't stand? The cover letter as a writing sample is also great for me because we email a lot. We write user stories. We document testing. We IM. I don't necessarily need to hire Shakespeare, but I'd love for you to be able to communicate your thoughts clearly and with an appropriate level of polish. Now, on that HR filter, I don't know how common this is but I ask my recruiter to pass through any application that includes a cover letter. So at least for my vacancies, a cover letter guarantees the hiring manager will directly review your materials. I think that provides an opportunity to candidates who don't check all of the boxes, but might have some transferable skills to consider.