Cover letters have been a long time part of the application process, but are they still relevant in today’s job market? Founding Partner Lucy Lorenzo, CPC gives her viewpoint below.
A quick search on Google will bring up various conflicting and alternate viewpoints. A study by ResumeLab found that 83% of hiring managers said a cover letter helped candidates land an interview if their resume was not good enough. This seems to pretty clearly suggest that any time spent on applying for a job should certainly involve spending time crafting a letter to accompany your resume and justifying your application. However, another study from The Ladders found that recruiters spend an overage of only 7.4 seconds on resumes. Will writing a cover letter take away precious time from your actual documented experience?
I would argue for a hybrid approach. I very rarely, if ever, open cover letter attachments. With the volume of people who reach out to me every week there is just not enough time in the day to read extra attachments. I work a niche market and I know what a top notch candidate looks like in my space; it is not going to take me a long time to decipher a resume. However, an email with a paragraph or two regarding the reason for reaching out to me specifically, and what the candidate can bring to the table, helps provide context and highlight the most relevant pieces of information. I believe a well written and concise email to accompany your resume will have the best impact. It is important to not simply repeat what is readily available on your resume, rather provide context and additional, relevant information.
What are your thoughts?
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