Cover letters – the making or breaking of your job application?

Job search etiquette has been the topic of conversation on a Career Change LinkedIn Group I belong to.   “Is your Cover Letter an Ineffective and Obsolete Tradition?” received 78 reponses (several heated) in the space of a couple of weeks.

What do you think is happening to your cover letters?

According to research carried out via a LinkedIn poll of hiring managers, HR staff and recruiters:

• HR staff don't forward cover letters to hiring managers
• Hiring managers spend an average of 15 seconds making an interview/non interview decision – you can't read both a CV and a cover letter in 15 seconds!
• HR and Hiring managers admit that 80% read the CV first and that 66% don't even get cover letters
• The majority of hiring managers related that they have denied interviews to candidates because of information on their cover letter even though they are qualified by their CV
• Job Boards and Applicant Tracking Systems don't keyword search cover letters, only CVs
• 96% of candidates either customise a cover letter sent with a virtually static CV, or don't customise anything at all. Only 4% send a customised CV!

If this research is the view of the majority of HR and hiring managers this means that:

• Cover letters are rarely part of the hiring decision
• When considered, they work against the candidate more often than for the candidate
• The cover letter effectively decreases candidates’ interview chances
• Candidates can increase their chances by spending time heavily customising their CVs, and ignoring cover letters.

The most obvious conclusion to draw from the above research would be:
If you want your letter read, don't attach a CV.  And visa versa, if you want to submit a CV, don't waste your time with a cover letter!

Now this is where the debate on LinkedIn got really interesting.

A few diehards said that despite the research:

“ I would still spend the time to customize a cover letter and include it. Why not give yourself some extra marketing muscle? After all, that's what it is: a marketing document”.

“I would send a short, succinct, and clear cover letter identifying the top 5 criteria the company was seeking, and concentrate on just those.”

“As a long-time hirer-turned coach (Heather Goodwin), I *know* that cover letters are not only not read, they rarely make it to the hiring director's desk. But the content of the letter isn't necessarily what a HR officer or recruiting manager is looking for.  A cover letter is an indication of good manners – something sadly missing from many applicants' kit-bags these days. I like to see that someone has bothered to send a cover letter. It's an indication of respect. It's a *politeness*, not just an adjunct to a CV. It says: please let me introduce myself, and thank you for considering me".

The debate continues!  Which camp do you sit in?

For coaching on CV and job search skills contact Recrion, People and Career Management Specialists on 01780 484910 www.recrion.co.uk