COVER LETTERS – SHORT & SIMPLE
As former CEO, Director and General Manager of well known 5 Star hotel companies I have my own view on cover letters. Having spent countless hours of reading and reviewing resumes and CVs, I had to develop an effective way to evaluate their style and content in a timely manner. During my time as F&B Director I had the habit of reading the cover letter first and then turn towards the resume.
Over time, my approach changed without me really noticing it first. I would take a quick look at the cover letter, scan thru it in 5-10 seconds and then quickly move towards the resume. A cover letter longer than two thirds of an A4 page would simply take to long to read. I simply wanted to know the work history and abilities of a potential candidate.
So with time, I would directly scan the resume and then, if the profile of the candidate matched the position I would take a more critical look at the cover letter. If the candidate showed the ability to express his “Fit” for the position in 2 to 3 sentences and reflected within these sentences his work life essence, I would give this candidate a first “Thumbs Up” and short-list him or her. I know, that many former colleagues developed similar approaches, but then everybody style is different. There is no right or wrong. What I can however confirm is the universal opinion in my circle of international career hoteliers, that a cover letter should be short, brief and to the point.
Of course I did some research on Google: “opinion on cover letters by recruiters.” The result was this: Quote: < A cover letter is important as about 26% of recruiters read cover letters and consider them critical in their decision to hire. Another study on employer preference suggests that 56% want applicants to attach a cover letter to the resume.> Quote over.
This means that 74% of recruiters do not read your cover letter, nor do they consider them to be critical in their decision to hire you. In the second study suggests that only 44% of recruiters look for a cover letter to be attached to the resume or CV. It does not suggest anything else. So if we consider these “studies” to reflect a good portion of todays recruitment realities we can say, that overall the chances that someone reads your cover letter is a bit lower than 50/50. If you add to this, that ATS systems reduce the inflow of job applications with cover letters by more than 50% it is fair to say, that the chance, that your cover letter will be read and absorbed by an HR secretary or recruiter are around 20 to 30%.
I contact former colleagues in HR and ask them directly about cover letters and I get answers like this: “Cover Letters ? hmm….sure , we take a look at cover letters too, but we are so swamped, always.” Another response was: ” Only if the resume is of interest, then we take a look at it.” Here is a specific one: “No, we do not go through the cover letters. They are filed away by the clerk.” Then there are those, who explicitly merge the application into one, but if they are read depends on position and size of the office. And often recruiters are a one man show.
What I am trying to communicate to You is this: Your cover letter should be short, not have more than 150 to-200 words in it and should consists of keywords which are directly in co-relation with the job description and requirements. Of course the same has to be reflected in your resume. If your cover letter is too long, then chances are, that nobody will read it, unless You really have an interesting story and the reader has a lot of time. Then you need to make the distinction for what kind of job you are applying for.
Please google “cover letters” or “best cover letters” You will end up finding sites who are in the business to write the cover letter and the CV or resume for you. It is a huge industry taking advantage of you not knowing exactly how to create your own resume and a small cover letter. And chances are that you get a really good looking resume including a good looking cover letter of which every second one will not be read or even seen.
So while the cover letter is formally still a requirement , just like the subject line in an e-mail , it will not have any real bearing on your application and potential interview. Keep the cover letter short and in line with the description I had given earlier. Your objective is to be shortlisted and invited for the interview. This is where your focus has to be. The cover letter is a polite form of introducing yourself as an applicant who is submitting his or her resume / CV. As such, your cover letter is still a component of your application, an opportunity to introduce yourself quickly and underline your interest in the position you are applying for. Its intrinsically value is minimal, yet you can not go wrong as long you maintain the standard formula.
As time moves on and recruiters will be replaced by AI applications the cover letter will by itself and its symbolic nature fall out of fashion and in years to come be really a relict of the past. We are not there yet but the time is not far away. There are still many traditionalists out there, especially in old Europe, where applications are frequently still mailed as hard copy. But this is slowly disappearing.
I know you will write a good cover letter and if you want, sent it to me for evaluation. Maybe you hit bulls eye. I wish you an exiting career journey.
Helmut H Meckelburg