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Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

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Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#81

Post by sethherr »

eli wrote: post #20

I can't speak to every hiring manager, but I definitely read cover letters and value non-generic ones. (And in fact my job ad instructs you to include one. So I still look at resumes that come in without one, but it doesn't speak well to your attention to detail.) The tone doesn't matter that much, but I would avoid the extremes of very informal or very formal. It should be the first thing that I read, so if you're a…

I second this. A cover letter, for me, is the opportunity to write a short thing about why you’re interested in the specific position. You aren’t expected to edit your resume for each job posting, but I expect to receive a cover letter that explains why you’re interested in the job you’re applying for. People who don’t include a cover letter (or an email, or some writing of any type) about why they want the job get devalued significantly when I’m evaluating applications.

Cover letters have helped me get jobs in the past, and have led me to get interviews (and to interview people).

It doesn’t have to be long, in fact, it really shouldn’t be. But if you’re up for writing a well phrased comment on HN, you should be up for writing a well phrased explanation of why you’re a good fit for the role.

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#82

Post by kyle-rb »

wtvanhest wrote: post #21

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…

Maybe I'm just antisocial but I don't envy the person on either side of that situation.

Also, if this is such an established pattern for professional jobs, why even bother having proper channels for applications? Are online applications just a honeypot to blacklist me from actually getting hired?

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#83

Post by estsauver »

tyingq wrote: post #52
fecak wrote: post #43

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…

If you're going to throw in links, I would do them as footnotes.

... I even wrote an open source library to access CAN bus data [1]...

Thank you, Name

[1] http://whatever

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#84

Post by gjjrfcbugxbhf »

walshemj wrote: post #23
pruthvishetty wrote: post #12

Always write a cover letter from scratch. It's better to invest time in five most relevant positions and apply with a complementing cover letter (and resume), than to apply for fifty positions without any background research (AKA generic cover letter/resume.) If you are applying online to a big tech company, it almost always goes into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The ATS scans your resume and cover letter for…

Sucks for dyslexics even high performing dyslexics like myself find writing cover letters hard and I would only do that for some very specific and life changing jobs - some run of the mill startup not so much.

If they require a cover letter then that is because they want you to think of them in the former category...

That said I've found cover letters to be pretty much a waste of my time so far.

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#85

Post by gjjrfcbugxbhf »

eli wrote: post #20

I can't speak to every hiring manager, but I definitely read cover letters and value non-generic ones. (And in fact my job ad instructs you to include one. So I still look at resumes that come in without one, but it doesn't speak well to your attention to detail.) The tone doesn't matter that much, but I would avoid the extremes of very informal or very formal. It should be the first thing that I read, so if you're a…

Oth. If I don't include a cover letter and you want to find out more about me you have to interview me...

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#86

Post by tempestn »

huntero wrote: post #10

Cover letters might get lost in the HR departments of larger companies, but they're incredibly useful to me when sorting through applications at a small company. Especially for entry level positions, a well-written cover letter is a much stronger positive signal than a bullet point style resume. Far too often the resume is a regurgitation of university class projects and career center templates. Think of it like a pr…

These are my feelings exactly. I run a small, all-remote web company with six developers. When I'm hiring, I'm looking at least 80% at cover letter, 20% at resume. And even that 20 is mostly just to make sure they have the basic competence to put together a resume, and to check experience and education to get an idea of salary range. Most of the decision to interview is based on cover letter and the answer to our fizzbuzz-style application question. (And then all of the decision on whether to hire is based on a series of realistic coding assignments, designed to mimic the kind of work that would be done on the job, each graded against a defined rubric.)

Regarding cover letter advice, the main thing I would suggest is to try and demonstrate that you're aware of what the company does, and specifically interested in that position. Cover letters where you've just copy/pasted the name of the company and the position, then inserted a few relevant points, are painfully easy to spot. Far more effective is a letter that is really focused around your fit for that specific position. And, at least for me, it's a plus if you also clearly acknowledge anything that would be considered a weakness (lack of specific experience for instance,) and then make the case for why you would be a good choice regardless. Once again, this demonstrates you've thought about the company's specific needs and how you will address them.

Finally, be aware of who you're writing to. If possible, try to get a sense of the company culture before writing the letter, and tailor your style to fit. If you know the company you're applying to is small and/or relatively informal (and possibly even regardless), you can stand out from all the generic letters by allowing a bit of personality to come through.

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#88

Post by zhte415 »

estsauver wrote: post #83
tyingq wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

If you're going to throw in links, I would do them as footnotes. ... I even wrote an open source library to access CAN bus data [1]... Thank you, Name [1] http://whatever

I wouldn't. A pain on stream of consciousness.

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#89

Post by zhte415 »

starwind0 wrote: post #25

Personally I have never really seen the point in writing one. My resume has all my abilities and even a bit about me. The recruiter is going to scan the resume and let the computer decide if I get the interview. That said the smarter thing you can do is copy the job posting, attach it to the end of your resume. I usually do it in micro print and white, as it's just for the machines. Speaking as someone that has inter…

Can you not manage time sufficiently to spend 2 minutes reading a 6 page resume and hopefully spending a good 15+ minutes thinking about what u just read?

Re: Ask HN: Writing cover letters for tech jobs

#90

Post by Maro »

I review about ~100-200 CVs per week in bulk, for Data Science.

I actually treat a cover letter as a negative signal. Who has time to write one, and why you do think anybody cares? Show where you worked, what you did, link to some interesting stuff, all this in the regular CV structure, and that's it. I have about 10-20 seconds per CV, reading a cover letter is out of the question. The only thing the CV is for is to (i) send some signals to pick out the 5% of applicants that make it to the first screening round, and (ii) at later stages, to quickly open it to recall who the applicant is.

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