I recently saw a panel discussion by recruiters from very large companies, including Microsoft and Starbucks, and each recruiter had a different response to a question about cover letters being useful.

Some recruiters said, “Don’t bother with a cover letter.  We don’t read them – they get immediately thrown away.  We go straight to the resume to see if it contains what we need.” 

Other recruiters said, “The cover letter is very important.  We won’t even look at the resume without a good cover letter that provides us with a reason to look at the resume.”

So, what should you do?

If some recruiters and employers won’t look at your resume (and won’t consider you as an applicant), the down-side of not providing a cover letter is obvious.  You lose your chance at that job and that employer.  So…

    Provide a cover letter with each resume you send to an employer or recruiter, whether you send it via e-mail or snail mail.  Don’t count on it getting read, but include it as though it will be.

    If you’re sending your cover letter and resume via e-mail, do NOT make them attachments!

Make the top of your e-mail message the “cover letter” part, and use the bottom of your message for your resume.  Put a dashed line like this one

———————————–

between the 2 sections.

Then, your cover letter section is immediately visible (keep it short – no more than 3 or 4 paragraphs).  If they want to read it, they can.  If they don’t, they can scroll down to your resume.

    Be sure that the first line of your message indicates that your resume “is included below.”

See Job-Hunt’s other articles on cover letters for more information:

    Key to a Great Cover Letter

    E-Mailed Cover Letters

    Sales Letter or. Cover Letter? 

Good luck with your job search!