8 Cover Letters Must-Haves … Switch from Weak to Top of the Interview Pile
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 9:24 am
I’ve never liked working on Cover Letters with my clients and I often say I wish they’d disappear off the face of the Earth.
Two thoughts, though. First, unfortunately, they’re still with us and unlikely to disappear any time soon. Second, I recently helped to recruit two roles and I was amazed at the effect the various letters (or lack of letters) had on me as I sat in the employer seat.
No Letter = No Job
My most negative response was when the applicant did not even write a letter. I immediately felt insulted, as though they didn’t care enough about the possibility of working for our company to jot down a few words.
So, ALWAYS write a letter, even if one is not specifically requested in the job ad.
Don’t just take my word for it. The following statistics should make you think afghanistan phone number library twice about dismissing the importance of the Cover Letter. Here’s what employers say:
40% say the Cover Letter is more important than the résumé
76% will reject a candidate due to poor grammar or a spelling mistake
23% remove applicants from consideration if their Cover Letter is too long
43% regard Cover Letters as just as important as the résumé
Hearts & Stars
My brother Peter’s role has recently been made redundant so of course, he approached me to help him write a strong and compelling letter.
If I were being polite, Peter’s first effort was what I call ‘thin’. Because he’s my brother I was much franker and told him it read like a stock standard response that he was using to apply for all roles, with a few minor modifications.
Peter’s letter did NOT make me think:
That he was passionately interested in the role
That he was a ‘star’ candidate
Two thoughts, though. First, unfortunately, they’re still with us and unlikely to disappear any time soon. Second, I recently helped to recruit two roles and I was amazed at the effect the various letters (or lack of letters) had on me as I sat in the employer seat.
No Letter = No Job
My most negative response was when the applicant did not even write a letter. I immediately felt insulted, as though they didn’t care enough about the possibility of working for our company to jot down a few words.
So, ALWAYS write a letter, even if one is not specifically requested in the job ad.
Don’t just take my word for it. The following statistics should make you think afghanistan phone number library twice about dismissing the importance of the Cover Letter. Here’s what employers say:
40% say the Cover Letter is more important than the résumé
76% will reject a candidate due to poor grammar or a spelling mistake
23% remove applicants from consideration if their Cover Letter is too long
43% regard Cover Letters as just as important as the résumé
Hearts & Stars
My brother Peter’s role has recently been made redundant so of course, he approached me to help him write a strong and compelling letter.
If I were being polite, Peter’s first effort was what I call ‘thin’. Because he’s my brother I was much franker and told him it read like a stock standard response that he was using to apply for all roles, with a few minor modifications.
Peter’s letter did NOT make me think:
That he was passionately interested in the role
That he was a ‘star’ candidate