[Aeolun]

Why would I do research on you, write a cover letter, and make a tailored resume when you haven’t even considered interviewing me yet?

There’s no job I’m keen enough on to go through all that trouble.

Also because the few times I did actually write something like that it just disappeared into a black hole.

[jp_nc]

Not to mention the same game has been played from the HR side. Imagine taking the time to write a beautifully written cover letter only to be filtered by some resume keyword matching software. At this point if you are sending cold resumes it’s completely a numbers game where quantity > quality.

[daniel_iversen]

Each to their own. I’d be more than happy to write something for you pre-emptively if I was really keen at exploring your company, but I’m quite picky and also I’m in sales (of sorts) so if I think I have a good pitch or angle/approach that will give me an edge I’ll take it (as opposed to playing the random lottery) - similarly I’ll also see if we have mutual connections on LinkedIn or if I know your investors etc :) … all I’m saying is that people should think about how to improve their odds!

[infecto]

I agree here. It can definitely improve the odds of landing an interview. In my opinion the cover letter should not be part of the standard form filled process though.

If I am reaching out to you Daniel because I think I can add value to your company/team then it makes sense to write a custom introduction email. This can apply to an individual or reaching out to some startup via a contact email. For positions where one is applying through a form on a recruiting website I think the magic is lost at that point. Companies should not be asking for one in the recruiting pipeline. Sure it could help the applicant or the interviewee but in the general case it will just create noise.

[daniel_iversen]

Agree it shouldn’t be mandatory to submit a cover letter in the process because that would indeed just be noisy and also defeat my process of checking who goes the extra mile - and as we all know too there are people with so interesting resumes or experiences that they’re likely to get a call/interview no matter whether they attach a cover letter or not! (I still suggest you don’t risk it for jobs you’re really keen on - watch one less Netflix episode that night and write that cover letter! ;)