Why Cover Letters Are Overrated

Here’s a conversation and some lively banter between me and a friend, a professional resume/CV writer. We were chatting about my (yawn) not so favourite subject - cover letters:

Sital: “Job seekers who spend tonnes of time and effort on cover letters are simply wasting their time.“

Sarah: “I completely disagree. The cover letter is a vital tool to help candidates get a consistent message out there and leverage their personal brand.”

Sital: “Yeh yeh, stop trying to blind me with your fancy marketing language Sarah!

Is the cover letter necessary? 

- Yes, most firms and recruiters expect a covering email or letter. 

Does it have a critical part in ensuring your resume/CV get’s read? 

- I don’t think so.

Sarah: “You don’t think so hey clever clogs?! So what’s that based on hey?”

Sital: “It’s based on being in the field and seeing the whole recruitment process from the ‘coal face’ rather than just offering career advice from the sidelines.

As a hiring manager, recruitment consultant as well as a recruitment manager within corporate firms – I paid little attention to cover letters apart from a quick glance. And it wasn't just me, people around me have similarly focussed on the resumer/CV. 

Sarah: “Well I should show you the glowing testimonials from my clients who have finally secured interviews and found jobs after we’d polished up a great cover letter”

Sital: “I don’t question that having a strong cover letter gives you a better chance than a weaker one – of course it does. What I’m suggesting is that candidates should focus on having a short, functional cover letter that is good enough (rather than perfect). They should concentrate their time and energy on ‘getting out there’ instead of spending hours tweaking  a cover note."

Sarah: “Well I think we’ll agree to disagree shall we!”

It’s All About Priorities

I don’t think I was in total disagreement with Sarah  - I agree that a crisply written, tailored cover letter does give you a better chance than your average cover letter.  But it’s all about priorities.  

Rather than tinker with a cover letter for a couple of hours, I prefer my clients to be out meeting new people and reconnecting with existing contacts.  Rather than trying to be overly perfectionist about the ‘message’ and ‘brand statement’ on a cover letter, I’d prefer them be speaking to people and testing out their marketing message in a live environment.

Like any message, the refinement and improvements come ‘in the field’ by seeing other people’s reaction to you and your message. You can’t do that if you’re sitting in front of your laptop for half the day trying to develop the perfect cover letter.

But hey, that’s just my opinion based on my experiences to date. So what do you think – are cover letters overrated..? 

By Sital Ruparelia

Comments

[Christine]

When I worked as a contractor for a major corporation early in my HR career we were told to shred the cover letters, then only the resumes were scanned in to the system. Later on in my career when I had recruitment responsibilities, I only skimmed the cover letters and e-mail messages because of time. I focused on the resume.

[Arroxane]

Ever meet someone who was hired specifically because their cover letter rocked? Know a manager to ever say, "Wow, this cover letter is exactly what I was looking for"? What about a study that says the best employees write the best cover letter? Cover letters are an antiquated tradition and waste of time. They serve the purpose only of showing a candidate may actually want that specific job. It's just a hoop to jump through.

[keith]

The resume tells you what you can do, what you've done. Cover letters, if I ever read them, were like fluff. The more time a person spent making a pretty cover letter the more likely the resume didn't speak for itself. I've been in recruiting for 12 years now and I don't know any manager who ever made a hire based on a cover letter. A good resume (and skillset) with no cover letter will get more interviews than a thin resume with a slick, professional cover letter.

[billiesucher]

Sital, I did a training program a while ago for managers/leaders...I recall 4 people (out of apx. 60) raising their hands when asked if they read cover letters. Your post clearly points out where to place the emphasis; thanks for writing about this.

[Allan]

I believe coverletters that are done with two colums your needs my skills is a very quick way to show the employer what you can really do for them quickly.

It has worked well for me in my career as a counselor and vocational counselor and its what I teach so, I am a little biased. http://www.powercareernow.com/

[Sital]

thank you all for the comments
see Sarah - "told you so!"
;-)

[Laura Paris]

Not only is a cover letter important for landing an interview but an opportunity to showcase your creative talent by writing one.

[ClubPenguinCheats]

I recall 4 people (out of apx. 60) raising their hands when asked if they read cover letters. Your post clearly points out where to place the emphasis; thanks for writing about this.

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I wish you great blessings and love.*

[Kamagra]

I believe that if you specify everything in your resume the cover letter is unnecessary but it can be a tool that can help you to get the job because there are companies that think that it is necesary and it talks about the person who is refering because people don't like to do that because they spend more time so definitely this person is a little bit lazy.

[Sildenafil]

I don't belive that because I'm a Human resourses manager and I've always taken in count the cover letter because it shows people's personality and sometimes you can notice if the person is apt to the job or not.

[Kamagra]

I think that when you specify your information in the resume is not necessary to do a cover letter. By the other side always is important to add something different and nice to your resume, and maybe that can make the difference with the others resumes.

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I most definitely read a couple of articles about this topic and it brings me back down memory lane . The question that I ask myself is what caused something like this to happen or be written?

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Back in time there has been some fading. But not defective.

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Good at planning, good at time management.*

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[UK careers]

CV and CV cover letter are phrases that are more common in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. In the United States we prefer to use the term resume, which is the past participle of the French word resumer, or "to summarize."