Quote:
Originally Posted by bossy22
For me, the cover letter was more to see if the person could be a fit with the team. In my career, we usually had some pretty tight knit teams, and if someone wasn't a fit, it wasn't good.
If the cover letter looked good, and they had some of the qualifications we were looking for, we'd bring them in. Then after the first interview, if we liked them, they met the rest of the team. The team fit was the most important to us providing they could do or learn the job.
We had guys who were damn smart, and either had huge ego's or were really awkward around people, especially the customer. They were more than qualified, but we'd have to spend time coaching them on how to work with people. If they couldn't, we would have to let them go.
So, in my opinion, the cover letter is to reveal more of your personality than a resume can.
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This is where the problem comes in: you have 1 page, minus header, address/date inserts, and attention lines to convince an often nameless person you have never met before that someone they have never met before is a fit for the team.
I'm with Finger Cookin on this one, and probably because I have now written hundreds of the damn things, that there is absolutely no way of knowing from one application to another how effective the cover letter is and what the employer actually wants to see it contain. I'm just at a loss of what a cover letter could do that a fully detailed resume can't.
I would think if I've outlined that I meet the qualifications, exemplify my experience and training, and even took a bit of time to individually address the majority of the 'requirements/needs' in the posting then there is a solid foundation. Let's have an interview so we can read each other and see if there's a fit with the intangibles.
This is moot when the posting clarifies what they want to see in a cover letter, of course.
And none of this is to undermine or toss-out the advice given in this thread. I'm reading every word. Just...frustrating!