Ok, I’ve spoken a lot about resumes lately and so I wanted to quickly hit on the whole idea of a “cover letter’. Here is a fact, the cover letter as it’s commonly known is dead. D-E-A-D. Do you know why? Because no one, and I mean no one sends paper resumes anymore. If you do, they probably end up in the trash. It’s true, sorry.
So, if the cover letter is dead in it’s traditional form what are you supposed to do? Here are a few ideas.
Send an email - um, duh.....email is the new snail mail (well, it’s not that new) but send an email that would kind of look like a cover letter of old. You’ll obviously want to be less formal, and word to the wise----craft an email that shows up is only as big as the “preview pane” so recruiters like me can quickly review it and not have to scroll through a ton of text.
Send a resume - You know, apply online.......if you need more than that, nevermind....
Network for a job - This is my favorite and one of the most important. The BEST way to get a job...networking. So, do some networking and meet people by leveraging your LinkedIn profile so that you don’t NEED a cover letter. All you need to do is have a few informational or informal chats about the role...follow up with a resume later....interview.....take the job.
That’s it for now, I should have another post later in the week. Special thanks to David Rosenthal for the topic...Thanks!!
Jeff
But Google still has that field (Cover Letter) in the application forms.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree with your opinion about networking
I'm hoping I can do option three when applying for the Google BOLD internship next summer. :)
ReplyDelete"All you need to do is have a few informational or informal chats about the role":
ReplyDeleteI'm used to go deep on analysing all the problems in my Job, and I would do the same for the problems I should solve for a new employer: I do desire to have muuuch information about roles and consider them as problem to solve, and to get a job by proposing a smart solution.
...but I'm quite unconfortable when I should ask questions to someone I barely know...
Should I be less "shy" or should I network more?
@Cristiano....be less shy, you'll be fine. Trust me!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your words but still everyone know it's not that with cover letter for your resume, it's just nothing. Getting huge network is also not possible for everyone but if the a person follows cover letter etiquette then there can be opportunity to get a job and it's not new to every that cover letter is essential for resume. I do agree with Juan Diego Pérez too. Anyway, I would love to have some more words from you regarding this.
ReplyDelete