Quote:
Originally Posted by Yamer
Cover Letters: I would consider myself an exceptional writer, but it's become an absolutely exhausting grind to come up with something unique for each cover letter. After you've written as many as I have, you start to notice a pattern of what you're writing. So I've developed a master template and cobble together from that depending on the position.
Problem is, every place I've looked or anyone I have talked to have a different opinion on what a cover letter should be, and it's confusing. Some say a summary of your resume, some say it should talk about you and your fit with the company, some say it should be a personal essay of sorts. Others say it should be all this, but don't make it over 1 page long. Ok? How is that even possible?
Cover letters seem to be the most contentious part of the application. It's infuriating. I just try to look over the skills/qualifications/type they are looking for in the posting and plug in why and how I can meet and exceed those. Frankly, you tend to run out of creative energy around cover letter #80.
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Just my own lay opinion: put yourself in the shoes of the employer. If I wanted to know what’s in your resume I’d probably just look at your resume. And if it’s not clear from your resume how you fit the skills and qualifications for the job, you probably won’t get it. And why would I want a personal essay? Need some casual reading while sitting on the can?!?
If I’m the employer I want to know why I should spend my time and energy to bring you in for the interview. So at the very least the cover letter should show you’ve done some research about my organization and why you’d be a good fit. I don’t think it’s enough to convince them “yes, this guy is qualified for this position”. Instead, it should be “yes, I think I want this guy on my team”.