SarahC07 0 #1 December 29, 2009 Thoughts on cover letters when applying for jobs? I'm 24 and have never needed to write a cover letter, since I've only had ONE real job. Any tips and/or suggestions as to how to approach writing a cover letter? I just stumbled across a job posting that sounds like a perfect next step in my career. I will, however, admit to being *slightly* underqualified for the position on paper. Please and thanks. (samples are welcomed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites quade 3 #2 December 29, 2009 The very first thing to know is that during the first step of your job search your cover letter isn't going to be read by a human. What's going to happen is both your cover letter and your resume are going to be fed into computer program looking for qualifications based on key words entered by some person in an HR department that really knows nothing whatsoever about the job itself. What he does know is one of two things; what the person filling out the request thinks the qualifications are OR what the person that previously held the job wrote on a job justification report. The upshot is, the entire thing for the first go round is a bit of a lottery. The company will get hundreds, if not thousands of submissions and it's the computer program's job to find the top ten or so matches to whatever was input into it. None of the others will ever be read by anyone -- EVER. If they send you a reply (which is highly unlikely) that says they'll keep your resume on file, it's pure bullshit. That's just a nice way of saying don't bother us. My suggestion is to make your resume a summary of your experience and overall qualifications but rewrite your cover letter to match the job description precisely to what that particular job is asking for. Your odds of finding a job via any service are probably very low unless you're one of the lucky people that somehow is exactly what they're looking for. If they're looking for a person with 3 to 5 years experience and you have 6 . . . say 5. If they are looking for somebody with Photoshop 9 experience but you're current with Photoshop CS4, then say Photoshop 9 even if that's a downgrade and somewhat retarded. The computer is looking for the absolute closest match.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Remster 24 #3 December 29, 2009 QuoteThe very first thing to know is that during the first step of your job search your cover letter isn't going to be read by a human. True if you send resumes to large companies through their website or career services center, but completely off mark with smaller companies hiring directly. I can tell you our 350 people company (with offices on all continents) does not use any kind of resume parser: all resumes are letter are handled by, mm, hand. So it really depends how you are doing your job hunting: are you sending 100 resumes to all the main big companies in your area, or are you targeting specific ones, ideally through contacts, and you have a decent idea how they handle things.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Nataly 38 #4 December 29, 2009 Many places nowadays don't require a cover letter.. Mostly, you may need to briefly summarise why you are sending your CV.. And since you often do that online now, it means your "cover letter" will essentially consist of the email you write that will have your CV as an attachment.. If you are going to write a cover letter, I would personally advise you to either elaborate on things that aren't on your CV (like "why" you would like to work for such and such a company), or else give an extremely brief synopsis of your core competencies. Either way, it should *add* to your CV, and encourage the person to look at the CV. Trust me, if the introduction is poor, many people will simply bin the CV without even opening up the attachment. You've then fallen at the first hurdle.. Edit to add: I would stay clear of templates - I would instead opt for a tailored message. And yes, I mean tailored to the specific job and/or company. That means one cover letter/introductory message per application. It's more work, but you get a MUCH better hit rate. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Rstanley0312 0 #5 December 29, 2009 Quote Many places nowadays don't require a cover letter.. Mostly, you may need to briefly summarise why you are sending your CV.. And since you often do that online now, it means your "cover letter" will essentially consist of the email you write that will have your CV as an attachment.. If you are going to write a cover letter, I would personally advise you to either elaborate on things that aren't on your CV (like "why" you would like to work for such and such a company), or else give an extremely brief synopsis of your core competencies. Either way, it should *add* to your CV, and encourage the person to look at the CV. Trust me, if the introduction is poor, many people will simply bin the CV without even opening up the attachment. You've then fallen at the first hurdle.. Edit to add: I would stay clear of templates - I would instead opt for a tailored message. And yes, I mean tailored to the specific job and/or company. That means one cover letter/introductory message per application. It's more work, but you get a MUCH better hit rate. +1 tailor an intro/cover letter/ and even resume to the specific job you are applying for. also, as mentioned above try to fit everything the company is asking for. This is very important in entry - mid level jobs. The whole elaborate resume and traditional cover latter may come in to play with high end jobs but I have even found with my current job they just wanted my resume. My current job is a high ranking position in the company. Good Luck! Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it. Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000 www.fundraiseadventure.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
quade 3 #2 December 29, 2009 The very first thing to know is that during the first step of your job search your cover letter isn't going to be read by a human. What's going to happen is both your cover letter and your resume are going to be fed into computer program looking for qualifications based on key words entered by some person in an HR department that really knows nothing whatsoever about the job itself. What he does know is one of two things; what the person filling out the request thinks the qualifications are OR what the person that previously held the job wrote on a job justification report. The upshot is, the entire thing for the first go round is a bit of a lottery. The company will get hundreds, if not thousands of submissions and it's the computer program's job to find the top ten or so matches to whatever was input into it. None of the others will ever be read by anyone -- EVER. If they send you a reply (which is highly unlikely) that says they'll keep your resume on file, it's pure bullshit. That's just a nice way of saying don't bother us. My suggestion is to make your resume a summary of your experience and overall qualifications but rewrite your cover letter to match the job description precisely to what that particular job is asking for. Your odds of finding a job via any service are probably very low unless you're one of the lucky people that somehow is exactly what they're looking for. If they're looking for a person with 3 to 5 years experience and you have 6 . . . say 5. If they are looking for somebody with Photoshop 9 experience but you're current with Photoshop CS4, then say Photoshop 9 even if that's a downgrade and somewhat retarded. The computer is looking for the absolute closest match.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #3 December 29, 2009 QuoteThe very first thing to know is that during the first step of your job search your cover letter isn't going to be read by a human. True if you send resumes to large companies through their website or career services center, but completely off mark with smaller companies hiring directly. I can tell you our 350 people company (with offices on all continents) does not use any kind of resume parser: all resumes are letter are handled by, mm, hand. So it really depends how you are doing your job hunting: are you sending 100 resumes to all the main big companies in your area, or are you targeting specific ones, ideally through contacts, and you have a decent idea how they handle things.Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nataly 38 #4 December 29, 2009 Many places nowadays don't require a cover letter.. Mostly, you may need to briefly summarise why you are sending your CV.. And since you often do that online now, it means your "cover letter" will essentially consist of the email you write that will have your CV as an attachment.. If you are going to write a cover letter, I would personally advise you to either elaborate on things that aren't on your CV (like "why" you would like to work for such and such a company), or else give an extremely brief synopsis of your core competencies. Either way, it should *add* to your CV, and encourage the person to look at the CV. Trust me, if the introduction is poor, many people will simply bin the CV without even opening up the attachment. You've then fallen at the first hurdle.. Edit to add: I would stay clear of templates - I would instead opt for a tailored message. And yes, I mean tailored to the specific job and/or company. That means one cover letter/introductory message per application. It's more work, but you get a MUCH better hit rate. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rstanley0312 0 #5 December 29, 2009 Quote Many places nowadays don't require a cover letter.. Mostly, you may need to briefly summarise why you are sending your CV.. And since you often do that online now, it means your "cover letter" will essentially consist of the email you write that will have your CV as an attachment.. If you are going to write a cover letter, I would personally advise you to either elaborate on things that aren't on your CV (like "why" you would like to work for such and such a company), or else give an extremely brief synopsis of your core competencies. Either way, it should *add* to your CV, and encourage the person to look at the CV. Trust me, if the introduction is poor, many people will simply bin the CV without even opening up the attachment. You've then fallen at the first hurdle.. Edit to add: I would stay clear of templates - I would instead opt for a tailored message. And yes, I mean tailored to the specific job and/or company. That means one cover letter/introductory message per application. It's more work, but you get a MUCH better hit rate. +1 tailor an intro/cover letter/ and even resume to the specific job you are applying for. also, as mentioned above try to fit everything the company is asking for. This is very important in entry - mid level jobs. The whole elaborate resume and traditional cover latter may come in to play with high end jobs but I have even found with my current job they just wanted my resume. My current job is a high ranking position in the company. Good Luck! Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it. Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000 www.fundraiseadventure.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
