Are you going to send one? The answer today is absolutely, whenever possible. It is a demonstration of your interest in the company and job. It may sound like old fashioned protocol to some, but we should still do it, whether the employer asks for it or not.
When applying on-line, sometimes there isn't a specific spot to upload a cover letter. If this is the case then add it to the resume you upload. When sending your resume as an attachment in an email, combine the cover letter with your resume document so the reader only has to open one attachment (this makes their lives easier).
The second most frequent question that arises in the presentations I deliver on resume workshops is "Don't I just customize my qualifications for that job in the cover letter?" This question arises because we talk about the customization of each and every resume for the jobs being applied for. If the resume is customized, then what do you put in the cover letter. Therefore, the purpose of the cover letter is a bit different than it used to be.
Because the resume has been changed to meet the requirements of the job, the purpose of the resume is to:
1) Explain why you want to work at that company
2) Summarize the most important qualifications
3) Thank them for their time and state your intentions to follow up (whenever possible)
In the olden days (10 years ago), you usually submitted your resume by mail. It was a tangible/manual process for the employer too. We knew the cover letter would be seen. The individual preference of the person screening/receiving the packet would determine when the cover letter was read, if at all.
Will it get read? Will it always get read first? With the extreme demands on time and the electronic processing of resumes, we can't be sure what is going to happen. We can control the one thing we know they will process/handle, the resume. We will still send the cover letter because there are enough people out there reviewing resumes who are of the old school and want to see it and sometimes won't read a resume unless it is accompanied by a cover letter.
Today, we can't make them read the cover letter. Therefore, if there are critical qualifications you mention only in the cover letter and it doesn't get read, then they won't know about them. If they don't know you are qualified, guess who isn't getting a phone call?
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