Cover letters
I’ve had a request for my thoughts on cover letters. To tell you the truth, in my line of work, I don’t see many cover letters. One of my coworkers does all the incoming applicant screening, so by the time I see a resume, there’s not a cover letter attached. When rresumes are sent to me, they’re usually from people I’ve just spoken to on the phone.
But I do see just enough cover letters to know that the most common problem with them is the same problem that plagues Objective statements on resumes. That is, they’re BORING and generic.
Don’t just ramble about being a hard worker who is flexible to all kinds of environments. Don’t write a cover letter that you could have sent to 50 other companies. Write one that tells me a little about what kind of person you are, what you’ll be like to work with. Here’s a hint: Everyone and their grandma tells me that they’re a hard worker, customer service-oriented, and a quick learner. Tell me something that everyone else isn’t telling me.
While both resumes and cover letters ought to sound very professional, it’s important that they give the sense that there’s a real person behind them, rather than a drone with a list of skills. Joel Spolsky rants pretty effectively on both cover letters and resumes.
January 14th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
This heads the nail on the head about most cover letters…”they’re BORING and generic.” But not mine.
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