Resumes & Cover Letters. How some employers & recruiters view them.

When employers & recruiters get both which do they read first and why? Are they more likely to read or scan?

This is a discussion I started on LinkedIn to provide some advice and guidance to the many jobseekers who ask about resumes and cover letters from the people that actually review them. I received some truly great responses and thought I would share them here beginning with my own personal opinion which was used to begin the discussion. Hopefully I'm not breaking any rules by repeating the comments.

Me IMVHO: Having easily reviewed over one hundred thousand resumes and cover letters over my 21+ years in helping to connect jobseekers and employers, I’ve found that the majority of jobseekers apply to jobs they want and “think” they can do. They seem to look at the job title, job description, location and, if advertised, compensation (and often only one or two of these). Little regard is given to the stated experience and qualification requirements.

It’s due to this approach to the job search that I’ve found the vast majority of cover letters to be useless. In many cases they are actually a detriment to the jobseekers application because they: simply repeat information on the resume; are clearly generic versions taken from source with no attempt to personalize, with the exception of maybe inserting a job title; are addressed/refer to the wrong individual, company or job title; contain a myriad of spelling and grammatical errors; make boastful claims that when challenged can not be proven; are far too long (in some cases longer than the resume itself); and the list goes on. This being said I choose not to disqualify a candidate based on a poor cover letter or no cover letter, and in many cases even a poorly written resume, for as one jobseeker aptly put it, much to my agreement, “I’m an expert in my field; I don’t want to become an expert in job search”.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not letting lazy jobseekers off the hook but in many cases I don’t see that the ability to write a good cover letter and resume, or the ability to pay to have one written, determines whether or not someone is good at their job, particularly those who have the qualifications for the jobs they are applying to and have proven themselves through experience.

No, I don’t put much stock in cover letters; I view them as an afterthought. First I scan the resume; but not for keywords as I feel keyword scanning is as lazy of recruiters and hiring managers as jobseekers are often accused of being, and I know for certain that it results in many otherwise well qualified candidates being overlooked; I scan the resume for information to see if the applicant possesses the minimum and mandatory qualifications and requirements for the position. Once it’s determined that he or she does, I then read the resume throughout. After reading the resume and determining that the applicant is a good prospect for the position, I then will, if one exists, look at the cover letter to see if there is anything it adds that can be useful.



Comments (13)

Lucy Cripps
Looking, searching, hunting employment in Biarritz area Freelance writer and proofreader at English Pro

It's interesting you say that cover letters are useless, when I know how the pains to which candidates will go in tailoring theirs to the nth degree.

I'm a nosey so-and-so when it comes to CVs and cover letters and thoroughly enjoy reading them. It's fascinating to see what candidates select to tell future employers about themselves: what they consider to be their life successes and their greatest achievements.

Your approach to selecting candidates for interview sounds absolutely logical. Seeing as many as you must it makes no sense to read a long, wordy letter (however well- or badly- crafted) if the highlights you need are in the CV.

Have you ever seen a cover letter that you *wanted* to read despite the candidate not being suitable?

Lucy
http://www.english-pro.eu


Lawrence Laier SPHR
Human Resources Executive

Like Nigel, I only look at cover letters after reviewing the resume and after deciding that the essential qualifications in the resume might fit my needs. In reviewing the cover letter, I look for clues as to how a candidate thinks (as opposed to a listing of skills). At the margins, a cover letter that is not a product of outplacement instruction might matter.


Roza Leon
Esthetics Educator/Mentor

Nigel, I agree with you on selecting the candidates. I also look for keywords first, the first impression of the resume (how balanced it looks) and if the qualifications are there then I read their cover letter. To me, the resume is What You Are (professional you) and the cover letter is Who You Are(personal you). A cover letter is a chance to tell a short story about yourself, as a hiring manager you get a vibe of that candidate's personality from a cover letter. And a resume is a list of qualifications. So both are very important to me in choosing prospects.


Rashmi Vimalnathan
Practice Lead at IME Consultancy

Nigel, too true! I always read the resume first, starting with job titles and company names. If I feel this is the candidate I'm looking for, then only do I go onto the Cover Letter. I always add on a bit of the cover letter material to the CV as a "Brief Candidate Summary".


Madeleine Price
BD at Verify, Human Resource Due Diligence

I am the same - I review the resume first then the cover letter if there is one.
Cover letters can be great if a candidate is applying for a position that seems slightly outside the square of what they have been doing previously, as an explanation of their motivation may allow them to be short listed even if they do not meet every requirement of the role advertised.

However unless the cover letter is succinct, relevant and really adds value, a candidate would be better off not sending one at all. I have seen so many cover letters that have obviously been written for a role at a different company - a few times even where the candidate has forgotten to change the company name from another place they applied to!


Raj K
Owner, Logic Networks

I do agree with you. However, the cover letter certainly provides some important additional inputs about the individual. One can analyse a lot out of the cover letter as how well a prospective candidate is equipped to represent himself, his skills and experience listed in his profile. Its an important window through which one can surely ascertain as how a candidate views himself ( even if the cover letter is generic in nature or meant for an advertised position or role). In the worst scenario, a cover letter gives an opportunity to the reader to know more about the candidate. My question is " How does everyone of us react when it is well organised and complements the profile) It is a known fact internationally that the interviewer (employer) makes up his/her mind within the first 2-3 minutes of the interview whether to pick up the candidate or not !! There are so many unsaid and undefined factors besides the job requirements which lead to selection or rejection ( My view is that - the cover letter gets our best of attention and we become instantly very interested to take it very positively when it is wonderfully written). In an unfavourable case, we outrightly discard or trash it !)Then is it not the procedure we prefer to suit our own choice, preconceived or perceived approach, comfort level and likeness ?

In short, employers' job specifications/requirements must be matched or met ( from the consulting firms perspectives). But, lets be more fair and open to our choice of selection and rejection. It does take a few extra minutes but one cud be more thorough in your job while viewing and analysing profiles. At the end, it is a personal choice to consider the cover letter as a part of the profile in totality or not.


Puneet Sehgal
Engineer - Configuration Management at Ericsson

Thank you all for providing the inputs and information that might b very very helpful for many of the professionals looking for jobs :)


Nigel Corneal
Senior Solutions Specialist for BDM (bdmss, CFM, ThinkBDM.com)

Thank you to all who have commented so far. I hope the jobseekers who read this discussion take them to heart and put the advice into practice. And for those of us on the other side it can’t hurt to help them improve their techniques; after all we benefit in that we get good candidates we might otherwise miss out on because they don’t know how to be effective in applying to jobs; and let’s face it, it’s better to help people solve these challenges than complain about them after the fact.

Lucy Cripps thanks for being the first to join the discussion. I think if more candidates really did tailor their cover letters they would be more useful but I haven’t found that to be the case. And actually yes, I have often been prompted to read a cover letter despite the candidate not being suitable. Usually when I’m impressed by the resume and want to know more about the individual to consider him or her for other positions.

I should also have mentioned in my original submission that since most of the resumes I receive are via email, I am more likely to read or at least scan through the cover letter if it’s in the body of the email or, if not, it precedes the resume in the same document as opposed to it being a separate document/attachment.

I hope jobseekers also take note of the trend in the comments from Lawrence Laier SPHR and Roza Leon in that a cover letter is more valuable where it provides insight about the person, or as Roza put it “Who You Are (personal you)”. I love this. Its invaluable advice and in hindsight I realize that these are the cover letters that really stand out and can make a difference when I do read them.

On the other side is the comment from Madeleine Price for situations where a cover letter can serve to put an otherwise curious application into context where the fit and reason for applying to the job may not be obvious.

As for the comment from Raj K, he makes a good point. In my own case however, and in the case of most recruiters I know, it’s not a matter of personal choice or comfort level, nor is it a lack of thoroughness in doing our jobs, it is a matter of volume, time and efficiency. Jobseekers should keep in mind that no recruiter or hiring manager, at least not any I know, approach your submission hoping that you are not the candidate they are looking for. That obviously would not make sense. It's that when you multiply that extra minute or three to read a cover letter, by dozens if not hundreds of applicants, and add in the generic nature and trend of most cover letters to simply restate some of the skills and experience from in the resume, it’s simply more practical to put the resume first. But again this is only my opinion and you should consider all of the comments in this discussion.

Please keep the comments coming as while not scientific, it would be nice to be able to provide some sort of stats and clear trends/tendencies to help jobseekers in this area.


Vijaya KC
Personal Hospitality Consultant at

In my opinion, Cover Letter are the prime source of interest and willingness of any individual or candidates for a specific work or a position. We will not know what candidates like or which position he/she is interested.

A jobseeker should mention what position he would like to work for and some of his skills and also the reason why the company hire him/her. Basically it should contain Introduction, the main subject and closure. An appropriate format is required to show your ability to write and create a first impression.

What happens next when you apply to Human Resource?? Probably they will screen you first by your Cover Letter, if they find it interesting then they will go through your CV or they might not bother to read your CV. Hence you loose the opportunity.

I think Cover Letter is like an appetizer, so that you can't wait for your main course. Sometimes the way of screening CV and the Cover Letter depends upon different people and their Standard Operating Procedure and it might vary from different types of Interview (Screening, Panel Interview, Stress Interview etc).

However, the different system and approach to screen the CV and the Cover letter, the basic is always the same and that is: Your CV and the Cover Letter should be always Creative, Truthful, and Interesting to read.


Susan Bell
Manager Consulting Services, Düsseldorf at Caliper Europe

Given much of the work we do here requires our consultants to provide our clients with well written, informative, succinct and accurate communications, I expect all of those things to be reflected in the cover letter. Additionally, so many candidates seem to apply for any job without really understanding whether or not they are qualified - I like to read that they have taken this time to match their own skill set with the job requirements, i.e. they actually have a genuine interest in the position. A well structured cover letter should also guide my reading of their CV. So yes, I place a very high value on the cover letter, I do read it first, and it is an important component of the initial application screening.


Ashish Bhatia
PGDM-HR ; Exp-Iyr ; Varied Exposure in different HR domains

I would like to thank everyone here for the wonderful inputs & specially Nigel for starting this discussion. Truly a learning...


Pat Bellace
Vice President, Human Resources at Health Design Plus

I always read cover letters and I am always amazed at candidates who do not bother sending one. In the cover letter, I am specifically looking at communication skills -- the actual writing as well as the ability of the individual to understand how to tailor his/her thoughts to the focus of the position posting. For higher level positions, I consider cover letters "mandatory."


Mimi Fuger
Volunteer - Coach at Career Transitions Center West Michigan

I expect the cover letter to address the candidates competencies for the position. I usually read the cover letter first to grab functional, technical, and behavioral ksa's that have been determined as "Level 1" for the position I am recruiting for - if I am not picking up the key words or phrases as I scan - I move on to the next application.

Conclusion: Cover letters are key as they provide the first impression to the hiring team. The voice of the candidate is heard in the cover letter and not the resume.