Job application cover letter?

In reply to OHSCrifle :

Unfortunately, they did not. I got the canned response of going with another applicant. 

However, i DID interview with hammond electric motors last week for sales and delivery. 

I was the only applicant with a cover letter. 

Ill hear tomorrow wether they accepted my counter offer. 

Pro: A cover letter shows an amount of giveaE36 M3 that makes me notice an applicant.

Con: Most cover letters suck and actually make it clear to me why I do not want to consider that applicant.

A cover letter can make you stand out, but you need to nail it. Granted, we are a writing-centric company, so bad writing matters even more perhaps to us, but the basics should hold true anywhere: Tell me why you think you can make a difference at my company, and do it in a way that lets me know you have researched said company and understand how the job works; then tell me why you want this particular job. And don't screw it up: It has to be letter perfect, concise, and respectful of my time as a hiring manager. If you can't deliver that, skip the cover letter and hope your résumé can deliver a Hail Mary over anyone who did supply a good one.

Margie

In this day and age, since I'm submitting most of my applications via e-mail, I consider the e-mail a "cover-letter-lite".

Since it's e-mail I know it needs to be more concise, but also doesn't have to be as complete. Just the facts of "I'm interested in this position," and one or two quick points to grab attention of why I'm an ideal candidate.

In my case: I'm a Certified Brewmaster and I have over 10 years experience heading production. Then maybe another quick point or example to stand out.

I also believe strongly in including something fun, personal, and unique that shows a bit of character. The goal of the letter is to grab their attention (but be professional), not land the job. So I like to tease with a simple fact that makes them want to hear more:

"I have brewed 3.5% abv English Milds that are rich and flavorful, and 11% Belgian Brut that drinks like 6%," or, "I've gotten Junior High students excited to study Shakespeare. I can train your staff."

I'm the sales manager for a tech sales company. While I always look for a cover letter, I'm doing so more to see if they've gone the extra mile and can communicate well. Communication is foundational to sales imho. 
I want to know that you have actually looked into my company and the role, the compensation, and that is something that you want to do more than 3 months. 
All that said, I'm moving to a new company and back into an individual contributor role again in a month and I'm pretty darn happy about it. 

Mndsm said:

Hey berkeleyers - gimme a job. 

 

Honestly, if you get in the door with that it's probably a good place to be. 

I've never written a cover letter because construction requires basically showing up and working but I did get a job once from the following interaction;

"Why should I hire you?"

"Because im berkeleying awesome"

Mndsm said:

Hey berkeleyers - gimme a job.

[Young Ones]

Darling fascist bully-boys:

Give me more money, you bastards.

Boum Shankar*,

Neil

* "May the seed of your loins bear fruit in the belly of your woman."

[/Young Ones]

Antihero said:

 

"Why should I hire you?"

 

"Because im berkeleying awesome"

In the interview for my current job I was asked that very question.  My answer was, because I'm the best candidate for the job.

What I meant was, if I'm not, you shouldn't, I answered the question she asked.  Their takeaway? This guy is cocky, we like that.

I think y'all are giving far too much credit to HR professionals.

In reply to Peabody :

LOL you said HR and professional.  

canoe

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

That was great, Mike. Your quality shines through.

I fed ChatGPT3.5 (4 is preferable) the job posting and my resume and asked it to write me a cover letter. You can add whatever else you want to the prompt. Then go back and change what needs to be changed. Personalize it however you want. Saves hours. 

Turbo_Rev said:

I fed ChatGPT3.5 (4 is preferable) the job posting and my resume and asked it to write me a cover letter. You can add whatever else you want to the prompt. Then go back and change what needs to be changed. Personalize it however you want. Saves hours. 

As a manager in the engineering world, I would appreciate reading this *in* the cover letter.

However, I probably wouldn't read it to begin with... because its a cover letter.

In reply to ProDarwin :

I could tell no discernible difference in my odds with a cover letter versus without one. That's only so useful an insight, since you're never told why you didn't get an interview. 

I did get my current job (which is a grail job for me) without one.