How important is Cover letter apart from a resume when applying for a job ? I am a contractor in Cisco and want to apply for a permanent internal position. Thanks in advance.
Managers hardly have time to read the resumes in detail. Cover letters likely don't get read at all.
Thank you all for valuable inputs.
A cover letter today will be an e-mail with a resume attached. I never sent an unsolicited e-mail with an atrached resume so I would say not important at all.
If it is well written, I’ll give the resume more time. If it is poorly written, I’ll give the resume less time.
Amazon doesn’t even ask for one/their job portal doesn’t even allow you to upload one ...
Cover letters were useful back in the days when you were submitting a letter package into a company's po box, and the person reading your package had a letter to understand wtf you sent your resume in. Today, there is email and social media. There is no need for archaic bullshit like that anymore. You should be finding someone's LinkedIn and associated work email, sending them a quick email to request a coffee meeting to learn more about the job, role, what they're looking for, and expressing in person that you want a job there. Then send in your cv as a summary of your conversation. Sending in a cover letter generically to a recruiting box is like hoping to win the lottery.
Coffee meeting? Interesting idea. I’d never take coffee with a stranger to help them understand the role better, unless their LinkedIn blew my mind. And even then, I’d likely not make the time. As a hiring manager, it doesn’t seem like a good use of my time if I’m honest...regardless of level That said, cover letter yes/no... I barely read them. Once or twice however it has made the difference between a no call and a call for first interview. These letters never started with “I think I’d be good for this because I believe x,y,z...” pass. “If you’re looking for x, I did x,y, and z for these a,b and c cos over the past x years” is more likely to catch my eye, if helpful I’ve been on the hiring end for about 10 years now in us and eu.
That's cause you're a selfish fuck and one day your carma will run over your dogma when you try to reach out to someone on LinkedIn and they will also ignore you