Ditch the cover letter?

Apparently cover letters do not help much... Do you agree or disagree?

I completely agree and even ditch writing thank you notes too. I've had 8-9 jobs in my career and do write cover letters each time I apply but focus mostly on my resume and don't even bother with thank you notes.

ditch the cover letter

Re: Ditch the cover letter?

I think cover letters are annoying but i dont work in HR so this is only the perspective of an applicant not an employer...

Re: Ditch the cover letter?

I'm not in HR, but when we were looking for a replacement for our client service assistant it came down to 2 applicants that we liked and we picked one over the other b/c she sent a thank you email right after her interview.

Re: Ditch the cover letter?

As a recruiter I skimmed the cover letters if anything...I was more interested in looking at current experience, dates of employment (length of service) and if there was anything that stood out.

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I just heard a segment on NPR that talked about how the cover letter is super important b/c you can highlight areas of your resume.


I don't think everyone does thank yous, but they take such little time, why not. Especially if they could be the deciding factor like AP mentioned.

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I have a form cover letter that I had done by a PR professional. I just changed out important info. I always send an e-mail thank you after an interview. My job that I recently was hired for-I applied through LinkedIn, then found the comapny recruiter on FB and messaged him there explaining why I thought I was a great fit for the position. I ended up getting the position

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I don't work in HR, but we don't have HR here, so I am involved in hiring for my dept.

I HATE when we get resumes without a cover letter. Especially if we are hiring for more thant one positon, or if the resume was unsolicted. I don't want to read our whole resume to figure out what type of job you are looking for. Objetives are usually too vague to really help.

If the resume is emailed though, the email is enough. I don't need a 2nd letter. I just need to know what position you are applying for & where you saw the job ad & if ther eis anythign bizzare (we get interns studying abroad who are looking for when they come back, so I do need to know when they will be back.)

However- the letter should be very brief.

I am a fan of the thank you note. I prefer a mailed note, but email is ok.
I would never thinkg--what a dork or what a suck up, if you were the only candidate to send one.

It can definitely be a tie breaker here.

Message edited 2/25/2011 12:38:13 PM.

Re: Ditch the cover letter?

I'm in HR - I like the cover letters - our recruiters usually skim that for grammar and the ability to write clear sentences.

We look for the highlights in the cover letter and if we like it we go to the resume.

And a thank you card (or even email) ALWAYS sets a candidate apart to me.

If I interivew 5 people, like candidate A and get thank you letters from the other four but not her, I'm knocking her down on the list.

It shows thoughtfullness, folllow-through and a geniune desire to get the job.

Re: Ditch the cover letter?

Whenever I hired people, I NEVER read the cover letters... I also never send cover letters and neither does my Husband...

ALWAYS send Thank you Emails or Cards.