61–70 of 130 posts
I've been laughed at by HR at one startup where I mentioned I did it for every job whenever possible. I usually use it to explain my background, and how it relates to the position. However...I find myself not having to do it much anymore since usually it is the companies that are seeking me out, or I have referrals.
Why did they laugh? Often the job posting even asks for one...
Don't write one. I quit using them after in interview where the HR didn't bother to provide it to the interviewer who complained about how sparse my resume was. It was on purpose because the letter had much more background content. I've also never received a cover letter for candidates I've interviewed. You have zero control over the distribution of two separate documents. ATS systems are geared toward something they…
Cover letter is email body, resume is role description and bulleted list of accomplishments/value added in each role. I found a way to work languages used in each role in without using a vertical list. For the "cover letter" I try to match tone of whoever wrote job description and convey excitement and cultural fit. I believe this to be very important in hearing back when reaching out and will iterate until I get mor…
I think email messages are especially important if you're trying to preemptively explain resume issues like career switches, geographical relocation, taken a gap-year, etc
Writing cover letters that go to HR is like writing a custom message for every attractive person on a dating site. Everyone says that's what they want, but your extra effort will go unappreciated 95% of the time while the goofball who just sent "sup?" actually got some dates. When it comes to searching for a job, best to not waste cumulative hours of your life writing material that won't be appreciated.
Resume writer here that also writes cover letters for clients, converted to writing after 20 years in tech recruiting. Almost any time that a client asks for a cover letter, my response is "Here it is, and I hope you never have to use it". If you're using a cover letter to apply for a job, it means you have no human inside the company that is advocating on your behalf. Your friend wouldn't ask you for a cover letter…
>Almost any time that a client asks for a cover letter, my response is "Here it is, and I hope you never have to use it". That seems kind of absolute. If I were applying to, say, an auto manufacturer, the cover letter might be the obvious place to state why I'm interested in working there. And why I'm a good choice. Like, "I've always been a car nut. I even wrote an open source library to access CAN bus data here: ht…
Never ever worked however. Found all my job trough networking except one employee that found me randomly trough a social network and just decided to send me a contract.
I'm not joking. I haven't even read the comments here, but I'm willing to bet people find them useful/useless. I bet people found it helped them/hurt them. I bet people will talk about how they don't read them/read them, expect them/ignore them, etc.
Personally, I'd write a generic one and submit it myself, and then I'll just bring it with me (along with resume) to the interview to provide as necessary. But that's me.
You should never 'apply for a job' in the traditional sense unless it is an hourly job at a mall or something like that. For professional jobs, the pattern is as follows: 1. Locate professionals at the company you would like to work at. 2. Email them through a friend if that is possible, and if not, cold email them and say you are interested in learning more about XYZ company. Ask if they can grab a coffee or do a qu…
I got the job I'm out now (since 2011) and applied in a traditional sense. I was also in a foreign country at the time. It was painless and quick. Hardly a waste of time.