Why is a cover letter needed with resumes?

[Limpy88]

I'm nearly 30 years old and never worked in an office. I'm a skilled tradesman. For never attending college, I make the same as ppl with bachelor degrees. Never being in the HR or management side of anything, only been a lead of crews. Only recently have I ever needed a resume. I started working this job last October, that isnt what I was told it was and has gotten worse. So I need to leave. I want the time to attend college. I have been applying at jobs and they ask for a resume and a cover letter. I was told a few years year ago that resumes need to be 1 page. Why is a cover letter needed that adds more pages to the ordeal, and how important are they. Thanks for any reply.

 

[JStang314]

Cover letters are a good way to let employers know why you're sending them a resume in the first place. They also give you a chance to make a quick impression on them. Giving a quick statement on why you are qualified for said job. Also HR people are already dealing with all the current employees whining about something and how their life isn't fair. Cover letters are a good way to make them want to actually read your resume instead of looking to see what degree you have (or not) and tossing it aside.

 

[mrjarrell]

Write Winning Cover Letters - The Washington Post

Top 10 Cover Letter Writing Tips

 

[MCgrease08]

JStang pretty much covered it. A cover letter is what convinces the employer to read the resume. I know it sounds kind of silly, but they are pretty important.

They don't have to be super formal. Keep it conversational in nature, just like your original post. The cover letter lets you explain your background and show a little personality, let them know why your looking for a job, interested in working for that company, etc.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

The resume is supposed to be pretty generic, a "fact sheet" on you for reference. The cover letter is your opportunity to introduce yourself, let them know you're interested enough to have researched the company and position a bit, and sell yourself. They'll be a lot more impressed if you can talk about the company than they will if you're just flinging resumes at anyone who will take one.

 

[atvdave]

Cover letters are a good way to let employers know why you're sending them a resume in the first place. They also give you a chance to make a quick impression on them. Giving a quick statement on why you are qualified for said job. Also HR people are already dealing with all the current employees whining about something and how their life isn't fair. Cover letters are a good way to make them want to actually read your resume instead of looking to see what degree you have (or not) and tossing it aside.

^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^

 

[Classic]

Everyone is busy, too busy to interview 100s of potential prospects. They use your resume and cover letter to simply "thin out the herd" so they can interview only those candidates that to them seem most qualified. Weak or poorly done resumes and cover letters get you off the interview train in the first cut.

 

[Crbn79]

I know people who were completely unqualified for a job. With a well written Cover Letter, they landed the job. I also know some HR people who simply file away resumes to await the trash date if there isn't a Cover Letter.

 

[Limpy88]

Thanks for the responses. I need to type a few up. One thing I know is that I don't complete with a lot of ppl. Less than 75 or more ppl I would say apply for the same position in Indianapolis, and less in the surronding countys. A place near the Putnam County line told me I was the 5 person they had for an interview. I would have took the job if it was the shift I wanted. But was told wrong over the phone. So hopefully it won't be much longer and I won't have to do this again for a number of years. Job searching sucks.

 

[Que]

Thanks for the responses. I need to type a few up. One thing I know is that I don't complete with a lot of ppl. Less than 75 or more ppl I would say apply for the same position in Indianapolis, and less in the surronding countys. A place near the Putnam County line told me I was the 5 person they had for an interview. I would have took the job if it was the shift I wanted. But was told wrong over the phone. So hopefully it won't be much longer and I won't have to do this again for a number of years. Job searching sucks.

If you think it sucks now, try searching when you don't already have a job.

Also, allow a friend to read your cover letter and resume to catch any errors you omitted.

 

[BE Mike]

I thought cover letters were to protect the young and innocent from all those exaggerations and lies inside.

 

[iChokePeople]

Because tradition says that you send one, and the stodgy old **** sifting through resumes/CVs might expect one. Me, I don't even read them. I skip straight to the resume/CV.

 

[cosermann]

Cover letter provides context for the resume and explains how your experience and skills fit the position for which you're applying.

Ideally, it's NOT a generic letter, but a custom crafted doc for each position for which you apply.

Cover letter ==> Gets your resume read ==> Resume gets you an interview ==> Interview gets you a job (along with your references and such).

 

[KittySlayer]

Need both

I generally expect both a resume and a cover letter. Generally I sort applications into three piles by only looking at the resumes: 1) those I want to interview 2) those I might interview depending on how round one goes 3) those who are not qualified for the position and will not be interviewed.

The purpose of a one page resume is to keep people focused on providing the relevant information that qualifies them for the position they are applying for. People that use more than one page usually end up listing a crap load of irrelevant information such as Assistant Den Leader of Cub Scout Pack 666.

I use the cover letter to look beyond the resume. First I want to see that you are capable of communicating in the written form (grammar counts). I also like to see that you wrote a letter applicable to the position rather than just using a form letter. Before an interview I will read the cover letter and review the resume. Finally I will make one more pass through stack #2 above and the cover letter can move your resume into stack #1.

Be sure to have a friend who knows you review your resume to see it properly represents you. Have another friend (or same one) proofread your resume and cover letter and correct any mistakes. Finally have someone go through a couple of practice interviews with you.

If the post below was your cover letter I would be pretty skeptical unless the position involved limited written communication (including e-mail). Yes I realize this is a forum post but if it were a cover letter my grammar Nazi corrections below would have moved you down a pile. Don't mean to be a jerk, just illustrating the importance of proofreading and remember that simply using spell check is not the same.

Thanks for the responses. I need to type a few up. One thing I know is that I don't [STRIKE]complete[/STRIKE] compete with a lot of [STRIKE]ppl[/STRIKE] people. Less than 75 [STRIKE]or more[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]ppl[/STRIKE] people I would say apply for the same position in Indianapolis, and less in the [STRIKE]surronding[/STRIKE] surrounding [STRIKE]countys[/STRIKE] counties. A place near the Putnam County line told me I was the [STRIKE]5[/STRIKE] fifth person they had for an interview. I would have took the job if it was the shift I wanted. But was told wrong over the phone. So hopefully it won't be much longer and I won't have to do this again for a number of years. Job searching sucks.

 

[Expat]

I use the cover letter to look beyond the resume. First I want to see that you are capable of communicating in the written form (grammar counts). I also like to see that you wrote a letter applicable to the position rather than just using a form letter.

First let me say I am not in HR, but rather a manager of a group within a large company. The above is the main reason I read cover letters. It is rather shocking how many people can't put together a good cover letter. The work my people do involves quite a bit of writing including formal letters. So if the person can't write a good letter (grammar and spelling included along with the ability to communicate ideas) in order to get the job, why would they be able to do so after they get the job.

 

[rhino]

Because tradition says that you send one, and the stodgy old **** sifting through resumes/CVs might expect one. Me, I don't even read them. I skip straight to the resume/CV.

Well, that explains ​everything.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

if it were a cover letter my grammar Nazi corrections below would have moved you down a pile. .

You'd move him down a pile based on his grammar and ability to write an effective cover letter even though he's almost 30 ( read mature ) and a "skilled tradesman" , most likely with many years ( read journeyman ) of his trade work / experience under his belt ?

Seems like you'd be throwing away an asset to your company , never minding the fact that the position he'd probably apply for wouldn't require college level communications .

 

[ModernGunner]

Today, so many Bachelor's degrees have been handed out over the last decades, and a LOT of them with little actual 'earning' behind them. There's very little significance really placed on them any more. Today, the Masters Degree is the 'old Bachelors degree', and the Bachelor's degree is now given little more regard than the high school diploma because 'everyone has one'.

The cover letter is the way to 'boast' on yourself, like having an agent that sings your praises. It 'introduces' the qualifications on your resume.

Do you 'need' one? No, nor a resume for that matter. But it'll just stacked in with a gazillion others, just a page or two of 'dull qualifications', with nothing to separate it into that 'contact these' pile.

H.R. people no longer really go through and 'qualify' the folks in that stack of resumes. THEY claim 'they don't have time', even though that's their job, LOL.

"Oh, I'm so busy runnin' around doin' stuff at work, I don't have time to get anything done." PART of that is laziness, part of that is 'self-importance' those folks place on themselves, and a big part of that is because, where the company had 3 or 5 HR folks, they now have 1.

A sign of the times. It'll swing back around, and the good employees will bail, and all the employer will be left with are people they shouldn't have hired to begin with. Nature of the beast.

 

[iChokePeople]

Well, that explains ​everything.

But i do expect a cover *photo*.

 

[HoughMade]

All cover letters should be specific to the employer. It's a small writing sample. Can you communicate in writing or not? Do you care about this employer enough to find out enough about it to personalize the letter?

When a person writes a nice cover letter and talks about all the great things about my firm...that have nothing to do with my firm, that tells me all I need to know.