4 ms·

I think that the elephant in the room here is "Why are cover letters required at all?". If it is relevant work/career/etc. experience then it should be in the C

I think that the elephant in the room here is "Why are cover letters required at all?". If it is relevant work/career/etc. experience then it should be in the CV. CV's are expected to have a clear structure and address specific points. Nobody looks sideways at parsing them without reading every word or searching for keywords. What's the argument for some fancy high-effort redraft that's hard to parse? Spoiler- headhunters very rarely request cover letters.

danaris 3y ago
This is true in Europe, but much less so in the US. There is no standard format for a résumé here, and the advice on what companies are looking for is in constant flux and also constantly contradicting itself. They must be no more than one page—the first page should be work experience, while the second should be education and skills. They should contain only experience—they should focus on skills. They should be absolutely plain and professional—you must use some kind of fancy design to stand out from the crowd. In general, my understanding has been that the résumé should be showing what you've done, learned, and can do, while the cover letter should tell why you'd be good at doing it there in particular. But I've seen job ads that had very specific things listed as expectations for cover letters, and I've seen stories from hiring managers who act exasperated that "no one" has these particular elements to their cover letters (or résumés), which were never communicated, and seem to just be that particular hiring manager's random expectations. It would be great if there were some kind of standardized format for all of this information, and some assurance that companies that try to buck the standard will suffer for it, but we really don't have that.
notahacker 3y ago
> Spoiler- headhunters very rarely request cover letters. Headhunters are the cover letter though, and like to at least claim to employers that they've done some basic screening for fit beyond obtaining the CV. They're also rarely involved in the sort of hires with so many qualified applicants nobody needs to do anything to stand out
JohnFen 3y ago
CVs and such tell what your experience and skillset are (the "what"). Cover letters tell why you're interested in this particular position (the "why").
- zaSmilingIdiot 3y ago
  To answer the question of "why", I'm reminded of this post I saw a short while back: https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/mce3j0/why_do_you_want_to_work_for_our_company/ https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/mce3j0/why_do_you_wa...
- jsjsof 3y ago
  Only a psycho wants to know "why" someone applies to a job. Jobs are exchanging work for money. Asking more than that turns it into a cult. I wonder if psycho employers think they are Jesus.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    "Why" is important. On the surface, sure, we all get jobs because we need the income. But why are you applying to that particular company over others? It's important information because if you have two candidates that are otherwise equal, and one applied to the position just because it's a job they qualify for but the other applied to the position because they're excited by the work or company, you'll go with the second one every time. Everyone will be happier for it.

danaris 3y ago

This is true in Europe, but much less so in the US. There is no standard format for a résumé here, and the advice on what companies are looking for is in constant flux and also constantly contradicting itself. They must be no more than one page—the first page should be work experience, while the second should be education and skills. They should contain only experience—they should focus on skills. They should be absolutely plain and professional—you must use some kind of fancy design to stand out from the crowd. In general, my understanding has been that the résumé should be showing what you've done, learned, and can do, while the cover letter should tell why you'd be good at doing it there in particular. But I've seen job ads that had very specific things listed as expectations for cover letters, and I've seen stories from hiring managers who act exasperated that "no one" has these particular elements to their cover letters (or résumés), which were never communicated, and seem to just be that particular hiring manager's random expectations. It would be great if there were some kind of standardized format for all of this information, and some assurance that companies that try to buck the standard will suffer for it, but we really don't have that.

notahacker 3y ago

> Spoiler- headhunters very rarely request cover letters. Headhunters are the cover letter though, and like to at least claim to employers that they've done some basic screening for fit beyond obtaining the CV. They're also rarely involved in the sort of hires with so many qualified applicants nobody needs to do anything to stand out

JohnFen 3y ago

CVs and such tell what your experience and skillset are (the "what"). Cover letters tell why you're interested in this particular position (the "why").

zaSmilingIdiot 3y ago
To answer the question of "why", I'm reminded of this post I saw a short while back: https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/mce3j0/why_do_you_want_to_work_for_our_company/ https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/mce3j0/why_do_you_wa...
jsjsof 3y ago
Only a psycho wants to know "why" someone applies to a job. Jobs are exchanging work for money. Asking more than that turns it into a cult. I wonder if psycho employers think they are Jesus.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  "Why" is important. On the surface, sure, we all get jobs because we need the income. But why are you applying to that particular company over others? It's important information because if you have two candidates that are otherwise equal, and one applied to the position just because it's a job they qualify for but the other applied to the position because they're excited by the work or company, you'll go with the second one every time. Everyone will be happier for it.