Congratulations! You’ve done due diligence and found the perfect job opening to fit your spectacular skill set and professional passion.

If you’re like most job seekers, your next step is to fill in the on-line job application, and cut and paste your rock star resume into place. Before you hit “submit” you might wonder, “Do I need to do a cover letter, too?”

Whether the application process calls for a cover letter or not, realistically are cover letters nothing more than a quaint notion, gone the way of paper applications, rotary phones and buggy whips? Are cover letters worth your time, and, more importantly, the time of those considering your candidacy?

Here’s what hiring managers and recruiters across a variety of industries said when queried about the importance of cover letters….

Who Cares About Covers Letters?
(And Who Doesn’t)

  • About half the recruiters (internal and external/agencies) and hiring managers (regardless of industry or position) appreciate a good cover letter. The other half either doesn’t care or considers them a waste of their time.
  • Some industries place more importance than others. Non-profits are especially keen on cover letters.
  • Positions that emphasize “communication skills” often require cover letters.

Why?

Of those hiring managers and recruiters who say cover letters are important, here’s a sampling of what they say they’re looking for.

  • “I get a sample of written communication, which is important… some insight to who this person is. Recently we hired someone I would not have spoken with based on resume alone. — Rebecca Campbell, Software Engineering Manager, Avinode
  • “The job posting said we need good communication skills…submit a cover letter… I was scandalized by the majority of the submissions. I wouldn’t veto a poor/non-existent cover letter. However, do you really want your first impression to be a strike against you?” — Charles Anderson, VP Engineering, Everyone Social
  • “If they don’t have a well written, job specific cover letter that sells me on the idea of talking to the candidate, I will probably pass and move on to one that does.” — Curt Conant, CMC, CCP, CS
  • “Why do you want to work for this organization? What specific work have you done that relates to this job posting and how can I contact you?” — Karen U., Sustainability & Outreach Specialist, Clark County, Washington
  •  “I am less interested in what you think of my company than why you think you should work here.” — Janis Williams
  • “The applicant’s personality, demeanor, and other aspects are nearly as important as the skills they bring to the job. It helps us to know if this person might fit well into the culture we’ve worked so hard to create.” — Patrick S., Theatre Administrator and Consultant, Performing Arts Software Expert
  • “I always stop and pay attention to a wonderfully written cover letter. Always”. — Jenny F., Recruiter
  • “It allows a candidate to explain idiosyncrasies within their work history, such as gaps in employment or drastic career changes, that are not specifically addressed in a resume. All things being equal, I will go with the candidate that followed the directions.” — Chrissy Blundon, Corporate Recruiter, Day Wireless Systems

Why Not?

  • “I would love to say that an eloquent and effective cover letter makes a difference. But I think it’s really tough to get them read by anyone human in the best of circumstances. As employers rely on electronic processing to screen candidates it seems like it’s more about search engine optimization strategies to best connect. While loading up the right keywords on the resume is not hard to do, doing so on your cover letter makes it tough reading.” — Michael Evans, Creative Consultant – Beyond Marketing
  • “Too many applicants. No.” — Janis Williams
  • “In the circles I travel in communication with recruiters followed by resumes seems to be the norm. I haven’t written or reviewed a cover letter in about a decade.” — Heather Rhain Wagoner, Cognos Administrator, Daimler Trucks North America
  • “I encourage my clients to skip the cover letter and instead write a concise cover-email unless they are specifically asked to write one.” — Amy McGeachy, PHR HR Consultant

Cover Letter Need-to-Knows

  • Most ATS systems can handle cover letters, though to truly make a difference human readability trumps key word stuffing.
  • Effective cover letters must be brief, well written, customized and be typo-free. Anything less is potentially more damaging than no cover letter.
  • For the right person, under the right circumstances, a killer cover letter can result in the hiring of a candidate who otherwise wouldn’t even be in the running.

Still Not Sure?

Trying to decide whether or not to “waste your time” writing a cover letter, just in case? As Clint Eastwood deadpans in Dirty Harry, “Do you feel…lucky?” Self proclaimed very new job seeker Brian M. is more than lucky. “I’ve had no shortage of interviews. The cover letter must be working.” Nevertheless, the best way in the door to nearly all jobs is not the resume, the job application or the cover letter – it’s who you know. If you don’t know someone who will help you get onto the consideration list at your target company, a good recruiter is still far more likely to get you noticed than a piece of paper, digital or otherwise. If your perfect skill set’s languishing, contact me. Perhaps I can point you in the right direction.

Are Cover Letters … Hot? Not?

Connie Dorigan, Founder and Director of Recruiting, sees the food processing industry as the link between good living and good people. She’s the west coast’s most experienced and trusted food processing recruiter. She also provides Executive and Career Coaching and lots of free job search tools. Once you’ve connected with Connie, you’ll always be connected.

© 2018 Connie Dorigan. All rights reserved.

This is a general interest article and does not constitute specific or legal advice.

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