Over the last few months, I have conducted an informal survey of recruiters’ opinions on cover letters. The results were pretty evenly split, with half the group reporting that they generally do read cover letters and the rest sharing that they hated them and never read them!
Of the recruiters who do read cover letters, nearly half said that they use the cover letter as a measure of how eager the applicant is to work for the company. A generic cover letter that appears to be one that is sent out to every job opening will be quickly dismissed– along with your hopes for an interview. Continue reading