I seldom provide a cover “letter”. If I’m emailing somebody I’d include one or two paragraphs about what I find interesting about their company/product/etc… or

I seldom provide a cover “letter”. If I’m emailing somebody I’d include one or two paragraphs about what I find interesting about their company/product/etc… or if applying via a career page I’d put that on the cover letter field. But IMHO more than cover letters or anything else, talking with somebody above a recruiter is one of the best things that you can do! If you can send a message via LinkedIn or have a connection to somebody that works there, use that! If it’s posted on HN who’s hiring and the hiring manager posts his email, use that instead of applying through a career page. No matter how good your cover letter, a referral is always better! In my company referrals are pretty much guaranteed at the very least a calls, so I’d suggest looking more into how you could get in touch with somebody at the company vs investing tons of energy in crafting the perfect cover letter. For reference, I’m in a similar position in my career as you, about 10y of experience. Good luck!