Does anyone still write cover letters?
Did you see this recent article from Archinect regarding cover letters?
An insightful study into the opinions of both job seekers and employers, asking “Are cover letters useful?” is the wrong question to ask. “How can cover letters be useful” is much more valuable to explore.
I suspect most people who groan at the request for a cover letter are making the assumption that the employer writing this job ad is asking out of some fealty to an outdated system of archaic business practices meant to give low level workers busy work to justify their meager wages.
If that is the case, then maybe this isn’t who you want to work for. I know, easier said than digested when egg prices are double digits; but job seekers should be (and increasingly are) sussing out which organizations will be right for them as well. That said, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume best intentions with this request.
In this post, I will cover:
When it is right to send a cover letter
How to write a good one
What to do if you do not send a cover letter (spoiler: it’s not nothing)
1: When should I write a cover letter?
If a job ad is requesting a cover letter, all respondents must send one. Period. If an incomplete application is received, this communicates inattention to detail, incomplete work product and at worst, incompetence. Harsh? Think about it another way. If you were already on the job, and the assignment was to complete a Power Point, send a mass email, and attach relevant images but you left out the images…it is easy to understand how that is unacceptable; to the point that if this were to happen repeatedly, said employee would find their time at this theoretical organization to be short lived.
But no one reads them!
Letters written by candidates who assume no one reads them are exactly the letters no one reads. If they are asking for cover letters, they are probably reading them.
If you have a professional policy of never writing cover letters, that is totally up to you, but if you DO write one, it better be good.
2: What makes a good cover letter?
Intention is the first step towards any good communication, including the job search. If you are going to write one, why are you writing it? What do you want to communicate? What do you think the employer wants from the letter?
A good cover letter is efficient, professional, and offers something the rest of the application does not
You do not have to be witty, poetic, or even complimentary. You can absolutely have a stock letter with a few spots that get changed depending on the application – just – this is so vital, do not let us see it.
Does the font match?
Did you change everything that needed changing?
Did you add something to a previous application that makes no sense for this one? Fix it!
Regardless of how silly you think it is, if you are sending a cover letter, it becomes part of your application and a window into who you would be as an employee.
The cover letter is a GREAT place to:
explain a gap in your resume
highlight your favorite project
give context to something in your portfolio
show you have done your research on the company
…if you have in fact done so. If you pretend you have done your research, and you actually haven’t…this will be glaringly obvious no matter how general you think you are being.
3: What to do if you do not send a cover letter
If you do NOT write a cover letter (because the ad does not require it), you are STILL writing a “cover letter” if you apply by email or an online form with a text box.
Your Options:
Literally paste your cover letter into the body of the email
Attach a cover letter even if it was not requested (as long as it is good – see above)
Write a short intro instead. Like a handshake instead of an elevator pitch - just no matter how informal, keep it professional
Things that are not options:
Send your resume as an attachment with nothing in the body of the email
Send an email that says “see attached resume”
Forward a previous application without editing appropriately
In Conclusion:
A cover letter does not need to be an effusive outpouring of love OR a waste of time.
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Everyone will have their own reasons, but some reasons may be:
language assessment
writing skills
personality check
testing attention to detail
As an applicant, you never know exactly the reason, but it is best to assume they have one
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Not at all! If you are applying for the same role over and over, you really can use the same letter. That said, just a little personalization goes a long way. If you change your letter, just be sure to double or triple check that it works the next time you send it out!
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In the olden times…resumes were sent in the actual mail. The cover letter, literally COVERED the resume. It was a description of the enclosed and to serve as an introduction to the candidate. Even in a digital age, they can still serve the same purpose
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In the job application here on our website, there is no input space for a cover letter. When we post on LinkedIn, we also do not have that feature enabled. Sometimes when we post on Craigslist, we DO request a cover letter partly to help indentify potential spam responses. If you see us request a cover letter, don’t be spammy. Just send one :)