5 Reasons The Cover Letter Is NOT Dead
Will Thomson 🎯 🏃🏻 ⚾
President & Founder of Bulls Eye Recruiting. Sales, Marketing, Engineering & Executive Recruiter. 512-970-8161. will@bullseyerecruiting.net
Truthfully, I am sick of hearing about it. I talk to recruiters all of the time and a large majority of them say, “I never read cover letters”. I have heard, “I just don’t have time”. Maybe I am old fashioned, but let me say this, I have found some pretty darn good candidates while reading through cover letters. Recently I read a cover letter for an out of state salesperson. No, we wouldn’t relocate anyone for the role. He lived in Florida and the position is in Washington D.C. I can tell you he was one of the top candidates for the role and without a cover letter, I would have passed on him in seconds.
I recently wrote a blog post called How to Impress A Recruiter. I talked about how a candidate blogged, tweeted, and reached out to me. He really separated himself from the pack. In today’s times, separating yourself is what it is all about. You need to differentiate yourself from the other candidates. If you don’t know this, let me tell you the cold hard facts about job openings. There are more candidates than roles available.
I have also heard from the candidate, “Why should I waste my time writing a cover letter”? I have heard “It won’t get read and it takes time”. You may be right about it not getting read, but you are incorrect about wasting your time. Not every recruiter is like me. Not every client is like me. Some cover letters don’t get read. I wish I had a crystal ball for you and could tell you that your letter would get read and how you would get hired, but truthfully the way one person gets hired could be completely different than the way another one gets hired. You need to try every angle. The cover letter is just another angle.
Here are 5 reasons you should continue writing cover letters. Take my advice or don’t, but if you are looking to SEPARATE yourself, then you may want to take these points to heart.
- Writing a Cover Letter Prepares You for the Interview. The more prepared you are and the more you can articulate your strengths and weaknesses will show much more than a resume could ever do.
- You are Forced to Do Research on The Company. The more knowledgeable you are about the company and what it is doing in the market place will give you a leg up on any competition. You would be amazed how most candidates don’t research on the companies!
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Sr. Employment Consultant
9yI read cover letters and they can give a lot of insight into candidates. I.E. Can they write? do they have attention to detail?, communication skills? A poorly written one says a lot too. I do understand that in a job search campaign, it may be tedious for a candidate to write one for every position they apply for. But, in some cases a well written cover letter will make you stand out from the pack.
Network Technology Platform Network Lead (North America) at Google Cloud -> Making your dreams come true on the Google Cloud Platform, one service at a time!
9yThere is nothing wrong with writing a cover letter if you want to do it, of course. But it simply is not required to get a great position. Your time is better spent on connecting with the people that are influential in getting you to that interview (recruiters, hiring managers, or company insiders). I haven't written a cover letter in over 5 years.
Writer | Editor | Fundraiser | Advocate for Shelter Animals | Music Lover | Yankees Fan
9y"To read the remainder of this post please click HERE" Next time, please just publish the entire post.
Production Supervisor at Subaru of Indiana Automotive
9yThis makes me happy! I love my cover letter! I think you can learn a lot about someone by reading their cover letter. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
"Career Management Services for Businesses And Individuals"
9yI always tell my clients to write a cover letter. Yes, many recruiters and hiring managers may not read it, but do you really want to take a chance and be left out of the running because you didn't submit one? Why lose an opportunity for a well written cover letter to show someone a bit of personality, your value and what differentiates you from all the rest? Appreciate your sharing!