51–60 of 77 posts
This is cool but in the last 12 years I have never written a cover letter for a role or read one as a part of the hiring process. Maybe other markets outside of tech still use them or for entry roles.
In Germany you're asked to send cover letters for almost any job, in any industry, outside low level entry jobs like cleaning, tending tables, etc.
As a hiring manager, boilerplate cover letters written in what I can only describe as the human version of ChatGPT tone already make me want to claw my eyes out, so I'm sure this will only help. Am I misaligned with what the larger job market wants to see from a cover letter, or is all the advice given to kids on how to write a cover letter terrible?
Cover letters should not be part of the application process for form filled applications. I did no research but my assumption is the origin of the cover letter dates back to letter mail times. The applicant is writing to someone for the chance at employment, it is a letter that sets the tone for the included resume. In modern times I see it as the email I am writing to someone. The introduction of who I am and why I am applying. It makes sense in the context of an initial email.
I tend to ignore most companies that require me to attach a cover letter to an online application. Its just going to be fluff, its not addressed to anyone in paticular and most likely not even going to get read. The application is going to a specific role, with specific requirements and at the end of the day its a huge time sink to have to write a unique and clever letter to an online form.
I imagined receiving a pile of these cover letters, and having a negative reaction. I'd feel they were wasting my time with bulk -- drowning out the meaningful, genuine ones, from people who invested in the communication -- as well as being from people who saw no problem in sending me what I'd consider a "fake" text that they didn't actually write themselves. How about we try not to send LLM text that pretends to be…
How about we try not to request text that we pretend will be read by a human?
And, if someone requests text only pretending that it will be read, we penalize that person?
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Note, I personally have no issue with cover letters, I am just attempting to point out that the parent's comment is not a compelling argument, so much as a rationalization that has decided to only consider one side of a two party situation.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a big fan of cover letters. I'll ALWAYS read an applicant who has sent a cover letter, and so in my books it's a good way to stand out from 100s of applicants (that are likely to only get skimmed and thrown out just due to the pure volume). It shows me that you care about the job and haven't just applied to 50 random roles.. not saying that it's bad to apply to lots of roles, but if you're that keen on the job I'…
Why would I do research on you, write a cover letter, and make a tailored resume when you haven’t even considered interviewing me yet? There’s no job I’m keen enough on to go through all that trouble. Also because the few times I did actually write something like that it just disappeared into a black hole.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would I do research on you, write a cover letter, and make a tailored resume when you haven’t even considered interviewing me yet? There’s no job I’m keen enough on to go through all that trouble. Also because the few times I did actually write something like that it just disappeared into a black hole.
Each to their own. I’d be more than happy to write something for you pre-emptively if I was really keen at exploring your company, but I’m quite picky and also I’m in sales (of sorts) so if I think I have a good pitch or angle/approach that will give me an edge I’ll take it (as opposed to playing the random lottery) - similarly I’ll also see if we have mutual connections on LinkedIn or if I know your investors etc :)…
If I am reaching out to you Daniel because I think I can add value to your company/team then it makes sense to write a custom introduction email. This can apply to an individual or reaching out to some startup via a contact email. For positions where one is applying through a form on a recruiting website I think the magic is lost at that point. Companies should not be asking for one in the recruiting pipeline. Sure it could help the applicant or the interviewee but in the general case it will just create noise.
Maybe this is the nail in the coffin of a stupid, meaningless traditional procedure that was already outdated and exploitable a long time ago. If you can’t differentiate between an AI-generated and a real one for your position, you should probably not rely on it anyway.
If you needed any more reason to think that cover letters are mostly a waste of everyone's time, now they are worth even less. Not knocking the work put into this website.
Getting a JSON error. I think there are some bugs or uncaught characters in the text processing for the invitation to paste your resume / job description (which people will do from a variety of sources) I'd love to play with this if I could get it to work.
I imagined receiving a pile of these cover letters, and having a negative reaction. I'd feel they were wasting my time with bulk -- drowning out the meaningful, genuine ones, from people who invested in the communication -- as well as being from people who saw no problem in sending me what I'd consider a "fake" text that they didn't actually write themselves. How about we try not to send LLM text that pretends to be…
I imagined receiving a pile of requests to write these cover letters, and having a negative reaction. I'd feel they were wasting my time with bulk -- drowning out my ability to meaningfully apply to genuine positions, by artificially raising the workload for each individual application -- as well as being from people who saw no problem in sending me what I'd consider a "fake" request that they didn't actually intend…
Lately, I occasionally see a job application Web form that has place for a cover letter (text field, or file upload), but if it's there, it's almost always clearly marked optional.
I also more often see people on HN talking about not reading cover letters, and not having much time to review most applications at all.
If someone sends me a cover letter purporting to be written by them, I'd expect them to have written it themselves (not generated it with "AI", nor had another human write it for them), and to make it worthwhile.