Everyone wants to know the secret to great recruiting. Candidates want to know how to get into companies. Recruiters want to know each other’s secrets to finding great talent. No one seems to be sharing their secrets, so I thought I might as well fill everyone in…
Recruiting Secret #5
I haven’t read a cover letter to a resume since 1999.
If you are sending a cover letter with your resume, the recruiter that is receiving that letter thinks you’re a moron. If you’re being told to develop and send a cover letter, the person telling you to do that is a moron.
Cover letters died when ATSs began accepting applications and resumes. At this point, even if you are able to upload a cover letter, no hiring managers are ever going to see that, and most recruiters will never read a sentence of it either!
I disagree as well, whenever I DO receive a cover letter (and we hire mostly for entry-level positions in a call center) I’m actually impressed and I do read them all.
Certain very popular career advisers just threw up in their mouths a little. You’re right, of course, but they have a ton of material vested in helping people “write the perfect cover letter.”
I disagree. I wrote about this recently. If someone has written a cover letter well, they’re probably more intelligent than someone who can’t bother. Do you want to hire someone who doesn’t know how to form a sentence? I don’t know.
Maybe that’s just me though.
Apparently, they’re being perpetuated in certain universities. My son just started college at Michigan Tech University. He applied for a job and they required a cover letter.
I know your used to it but this is going to piss some people off. I agree with your assessment of cover letters. It will be interesting to see if you get any comments.