3 ms·

> I’ve reviewed many resumes lately and think there’s cover letters for maybe 5% of the applications. I like them and think they are helpful to me to 1) show th

> I’ve reviewed many resumes lately and think there’s cover letters for maybe 5% of the applications. I like them and think they are helpful to me to 1) show the applicant read the position and thought about it some, 2) call out specific parts of resumes that are relevant to the position. A brief cover letter that provides additional context to the resume is useful to me as a hiring manager, but I also know that few people read them. That said, anything to boost my chances is good, so I'll include such a letter with my applications.

JohnFen 3y ago
Interesting. When I've been the one doing hiring, the cover letter was the single most important thing an applicant could supply. A resume/cv tells you work history, but a cover letter tells you about who the person is and gives clues about whether or not they'd be a good fit in the organization. In my experience, assuming the applicant is competent, being a good fit is more important than things like what specific skills they have or what they're worked on in the past. You can train new applicants in whatever skills your specific position requires, but you can't train new applicants to work well with an existing team.
- deprecative 3y ago
  > You can train new applicants in whatever skills your specific position requires, but you can't train new applicants to work well with an existing team. Does it matter, though? Companies do not employ for the long term so my fit as a person is irrelevant. I won't be there long enough to really have that come up assuming I am able to front the minimum personality for the team. At the end of the second year my 0% raise I'll have taken two straight years of pay cuts.
prepend 3y ago
It’s funny as it seems totally arbitrary and I’ve spoke with people who completely ignore cover letters. Or sometimes the application system strips them off. As an applicant it’s hard to know the preference of the reviewer so that makes it harder. But I think that, for me, I just sort of accept that there’s much wasted effort in applying to jobs. Looking for work is a job, so spending 1-2 hours per application is work that must be done, even if some of it never gets seen. I wrote a cover letter for the job I’m in now. I never asked my manager if she read it or if it influenced her decision. But I’ll probably write one next time. Same goes for thank you notes. Hard to know if they work. But it doesn’t hurt, other than the labor involved in writing.

JohnFen 3y ago

Interesting. When I've been the one doing hiring, the cover letter was the single most important thing an applicant could supply. A resume/cv tells you work history, but a cover letter tells you about who the person is and gives clues about whether or not they'd be a good fit in the organization. In my experience, assuming the applicant is competent, being a good fit is more important than things like what specific skills they have or what they're worked on in the past. You can train new applicants in whatever skills your specific position requires, but you can't train new applicants to work well with an existing team.

deprecative 3y ago
> You can train new applicants in whatever skills your specific position requires, but you can't train new applicants to work well with an existing team. Does it matter, though? Companies do not employ for the long term so my fit as a person is irrelevant. I won't be there long enough to really have that come up assuming I am able to front the minimum personality for the team. At the end of the second year my 0% raise I'll have taken two straight years of pay cuts.

prepend 3y ago

It’s funny as it seems totally arbitrary and I’ve spoke with people who completely ignore cover letters. Or sometimes the application system strips them off. As an applicant it’s hard to know the preference of the reviewer so that makes it harder. But I think that, for me, I just sort of accept that there’s much wasted effort in applying to jobs. Looking for work is a job, so spending 1-2 hours per application is work that must be done, even if some of it never gets seen. I wrote a cover letter for the job I’m in now. I never asked my manager if she read it or if it influenced her decision. But I’ll probably write one next time. Same goes for thank you notes. Hard to know if they work. But it doesn’t hurt, other than the labor involved in writing.