The following is part of a piece written in response to a posting on LinkedIn.com Job-Hunt group discussion page where the writer offered his advice on why cover letters for employment are a waste of your time. It is important to note that only one other individual shared the same opinion. Of all the comments submitted, 99% disagreed with NEVER write a cover letter.
To read the full article click here. If you want to read the comments you'll need to have a profile on LinkedIn.com and join the Job-Hunt Group.
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Here is our response:
How do we KNOW what happens or doesn't happen outside of our own small sphere of experience. There are places right here in America where it's a two-hour drive to a public library with Internet access and another hours to download one single audio file of less than 6MB. We don't think that qualifies as "total media saturation"
It's dangerous to stand out on such a limb and proclaim your way is the only right way.
Job search at best is a "trial and error" method. There are variables to the variables and the best advice is to learn and understand the "whys", "hows" and "whens" before making final decisions as to any part of the job search.
Cover letters, in this case, are like everything else in the job search tool box. They are only tools. Like any tool in the shed, cover letters can be miss-used, used the wrong way, used for the wrong purpose or in some cases, ignored. That doesn't make the tool bad, only the user. This tool is a proven tool in this or any other job market, in this time or any other. Whether mailed or e-mailed, a cover letter is a professional courtesy. It's never a bad idea to be professional and it's never a bad idea to be courteous. It may never be read, but I'll bet it's never overlooked.
What we've found to be true more often than not is the amount of seemingly conflicting direction and advice in any step of the job search process causes confusion and therefore more harm than good.
What we like to say is: "There is no wrong way and no right way - only the way that works and the way that doesn't". When we add all the variables into that statement, we find that the way that worked yesterday may not work so well or even at all today and the way that worked for you won't work for another....the way that worked with that employer doesn't work with this new employer...etc. etc.
There's no replacement for learning the proper way to do something even if it brands you as "Old-Fashioned". Being "Old-Fashioned" doesn't mean that a person is technically out-of-step with the digital world. Garrison Keillor of "A Prairie Home Companion" is a well-recognized writer of merit and some may say a bit "old-fashioned" yet he sends out emails a-plenty on a daily basis. E-mails are just another tool afterall. There is still no validity in using the tool as an excuse for eliminating a tried and true step in the process.
Just because we have electric power saws now doesn't mean we can cut the board unsquare. The laws of proper carpentry still apply. The tool only makes it easier to saw the board.
Whether you write a cover letter as a separate document or include it in the text of the email are options each can choose for themselves but if you prefer email as an efficiency step, we only hope that doesn't equate to "cutting corners". There's no replacement for formality - even in the text of the email. If you want to be brief and efficient - why not send a telegram?
*Applying for Job - Stop
*Skills outstanding - Stop
*Contact Me Immediately! - Stop
That just about says it all with as much brevity as you can get. But what does it say between the lines? For some employers it might say you would get the job. For others, just a nuisance and therefore no job offer.
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