this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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Especially with the rise of "ghost postings" so quantity over quality is greater than ever these days

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[–] yamanii@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago

As someone from outside the US, I have no clue wtf is a cover letter, this isn't a thing in Brazil, you just send your resume.

[–] Resonosity@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I think cover letters are still absolutely relevant to the job process.

I liken cover letters to cheat sheets that you prepare for an exam. You may not need to make one to be successful, but can be very helpful.

Usually with cover letters, I try to make the argument that I'm good for the company, and the company is good for me. This usually allows me to frame the way I look a new job as a business agreement where both parties can benefit, and that I'm not a parasite taking from them and not giving.

I don't make cover letters for each and every position I apply to or look into, but for those ones i think I have a good chance of landing and those companies I believe in, I'll absolutely put in more effort with cover letters.

[–] limelight79@lemm.ee 4 points 1 hour ago

Interesting. I'm a hiring manager, and I've seen many cover letters that actually hurt the candidate because they have typographical errors, poor grammar, or are addressed to a different organization entirely. Probably 85% of cover letters I see do no harm; most of the rest hurt the candidate. The way you're describing a cover letter sounds like it would be beneficial, but I don't see ones like that very often. I definitely would appreciate that you took the time to tailor it to us.

My advice for everyone is, if you're going to write a cover letter, proofread it just like the resume. If you're short on time, focus on the resume and skip the cover letter (if you can - they might be required for some applications). I definitely notice a sloppy cover letter, so not having a cover letter will hurt far, far less than a sloppy one.

I wouldn't toss someone's application just because their cover letter had a typographical error in it, especially if the candidate is otherwise well qualified. But, if I'm borderline on whether I want to interview someone, and the cover letter is sloppy, I'm probably going to pass. We're pretty detail-oriented, and a sloppy cover letter makes me worry about the details.

[–] recapitated@lemmy.world 12 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Plot twist: make a one size fits all resume, but have AI tailor it and transmit it everywhere.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Double twist:

Just go work for the AI

[–] underwire212@lemm.ee 2 points 1 hour ago

Triple twist: Be the AI

[–] doubletwist@lemmy.world 8 points 2 hours ago (2 children)
[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

Hello? It is me Danny Barcelona

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

Are you sure you're not Linux?

[–] CorvidCawder@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Is there a Lemmy equivalent to /r/beetlejuicing yet?

[–] underwire212@lemm.ee 1 points 1 hour ago

Leetlejuicing

[–] ZeffSyde@lemmy.world 13 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

Maybe it's the shit market that I'm applying to, but when I apply for a retail job, they want a fully filled out application (that auto fill always Borks, so I have to type everything in manually) as well as a cover sheet and some places want you to take a personality quiz that you have to pass for hr to even see your application. I couldn't imagine applying to 4 jobs a day, let alone 40.

I imagine we are talking about corporate postings where you just paste a link to LinkedIn and that does most of the work?

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

if indeed doesn't allow me to quick apply, it's gotta be a dream job to even want to go to their site and do even more work.

[–] Slovene@feddit.nl 2 points 3 hours ago

Yeah, about that cover sheet. Did you not get the memo? We're putting new cover sheets on all the applications now, mmmkay? If you could just do that from now, that'd be great.

[–] Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Jesus that sounds so demeaning. I haven't had to apply for a job in about 15 years now. All networking, and I was poached and offered my current job. Union now, so I'm set. I don't remember having to jump through so many hoops when I was younger and applying for a job, but recently I passed by a Wendy's and there must have been 50 people lined up outside with resumes because there was a job posting. That many people for one burger job, that's hard times.

[–] CMonster@discuss.online 1 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

I've worked for several big corps have never seen anything like that.

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

lucky you, it's becoming more common.

[–] x4740N@lemm.ee 1 points 2 hours ago

Just use a cover letter template with changeable placeholders

[–] gmtom@lemmy.world 12 points 7 hours ago

Unless something really good comes up yeah. Also most of the time I just put my generic CV up and get calls from recruiters. So the actual people hiring don't even see my CV

[–] luciferofastora@lemmy.zip 14 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Had one guy apply for a job in my field saying "My experiences in different field> will help me as ."

There is very little overlap in hard skills (soft ones obviously do help). Not like that matters a whole lot - their actual list of past jobs and skills would have landed them an interview at least, because we already expect it to be a learn-as-you-go type of deal. Bro would have been better off leaving it out and I would have just assumed they're trying to strike out in a different direction.

(I told HR to invite them for an interview anyway, because fuck cover letters - I'm not gonna hold anyone to a higher standard there than I'd like to be held to)

[–] GhostlyPixel@lemmy.world 19 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (3 children)

Tried both, tried a normal resume and a resume with an ATS-focused layout, tried AI-based tools meant to help you improve your resume, and a few other things, and after more than forty applications in six months, what finally got me an interview and then very quickly an offer was an internal referral from a friend/ex-coworker. For context, I am a software engineer.

Fun fact: the average response time after submitting an application was 48 days.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 1 points 49 minutes ago

Same here. I changed my LinkedIn status and a former coworker pinged me and said he set up a Discord for other job seekers. I joined and posted my skills and desired role and he forwarded my resume to his employer because they were in the early stages of finding someone for that role.

After a week of interviews I had a new job. Of the 60 or so applications I sent to similar roles during that week only about half replied, and all of those were rejections.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago

Yeah, as I’m going to move across my country I’m basically calling on everyone I know to give me references there. I figure it’s time that my extroversion help me instead of hurting me like usual

[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

and after more than forty applications in six months

That's not "spray and pray"

I just started a job search yesterday and I'm already at about 40 applications. My job search before this one I went from search start to offer in ~2 weeks w/ ~200 applications in, all manual. Though my industry is IT, so I do have a bit of flexibility as far as roles go, but still 6 applications/month is a bit on the low side IMO

[–] OrnateLuna@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 7 hours ago

Yeah usually I send like 40 or applications each week. I imagine if you are in a specific field then it's a lot harder to do the spray and pray method tho

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 32 points 16 hours ago (11 children)

Never have done a cover letter. Just seems like pandering pretentious tripe

[–] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

This may be Australia specific, but do job postings not spell out what they want in other countries?

Like, job postings in Australia (these days) are: this is the job, here are the key selection criteria, please provide us a resume and cover letter (or just a resume, or cover letter optional, etc). Even down to maximum number of pages sometimes.

They just tell you, and part of the way they weed people out is if they fail to follow what's written (simple way to weed out anyone paying no attention).

Do other countries just have to GUESS what the recruitment managers want at each company?

[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Only about 3 out of 10 jobs I have applied for stipulated a cover letter and those 3 were trying to appear bigger than they were in other ways

[–] bitchkat@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

I don't think I've crafted a cover letter since we stopped sending resumes via snail mail.

[–] w3dd1e@lemm.ee 8 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I always thought of a cover letter for clarifying something on your resume. Ex: you’re changing careers or industries and out want to clarify why your experience is relevant. So, I don’t do them for every application but in certain situations.

[–] bitchkat@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

Originally it was to introduce yourself and why you're sending them a resume in the mail. A really good cover letter will get you past HR send your letter and resume to the hiring team. Thst function has largely been replaced by resume scanning tools.

[–] hraegsvelmir@lemm.ee 20 points 16 hours ago

Same. They already have my resume and application for the job, I'm not writing a whole page groveling and begging them to hire me.

[–] frayedpickles@lemmy.cafe 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

When I get them from new grads I delete them. Experienced people or weird resumes I might read if borderline.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 hours ago

Sometimes it is interesting reading the bad ones. They can't spell or use proper grammar apparently

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