I just think the cover letter is a byzantine chore that's easily faked. Not a real signal that the candidate is a good one. To your point "in the interview..."

I just think the cover letter is a byzantine chore that's easily faked. Not a real signal that the candidate is a good one. To your point "in the interview...", I think hammers home the post's key point that the real process is the interview. Everything else is just to get you there.