[lucb1e]

I wonder what I would think of a candidate who submits a computer-generated text for me to read, especially when the input is not even human bullet points but just the job post and the resume.

We don't have any formal process for hiring (we're <10 FTE) so whether you add a cover letter is up to you, but if you submit one and I spend my time evaluating your message, and it turns out you had an unrelated third party bullshitting me from the first to the last word, I expect this is not going to go over well.

As an IT person, I do have to commend the automation, though. There are pros and cons to weigh as you use this.

[fbdab103]

Assuming they give it a once over sanity check, who cares? Hiring is already a smoke and mirrors game where job seekers have zero insight into what is happening behind the scenes.

Is the job posting real? Has it already been promised to someone's buddy? Is the job real, but significantly below market rate? Will this be pre-screened by HR looking for magical keyword X else it gets thrown in the bin? Has John Carmack already applied, and I would be wasting my time? Is the job real, but it will take six weeks before someone deign acknowledges I applied?

[antiterra]

If they actually proofread or edit it, how are you going to know? How is it any worse than some job coach formulaically writing it based on the job description and resume? Cover letters are ignored all the time, and generally just serve to add as friction to reduce candidates.

[lucb1e]

> If they actually proofread or edit it, how are you going to know?

Then it's not just autogenerated: apparently it's what they actually mean to say because they've read it (also: equal time spent compared to me) and still sent it. The problem is that the receiving party cannot know whether that's the case upon receipt if the "this was automatically generated" alert triggers.

> How is it any worse than some job coach formulaically writing it based on the job description and resume?

Someone else doing your applications for you would send a similar message I think, but then you can't just send out 100 in an automated fashion and waste a ton of time (unless you're rich I guess, but then you'd be better off with index investments). I do find it hard to say for sure how I will feel in what-if situations without having been in them.

> Cover letters are ignored all the time, and generally just serve to add as friction to reduce candidates.

Not my experience, but as I wrote in another subthread: the application process may be different in NL/DE versus whereever OP lives, or for my line of work compared to theirs. I wouldn't submit a plain CV without writing a few sentences on why I'm applying regardless of whether that's explicitly stated as required by the receiving company.

[hackernewds]

wonder what applicants think of employers that just use keyword search to filter their cover letters and resumes

[lucb1e]

The answer you're obviously looking to get is "the same", and indeed, I probably wouldn't enjoy working in a place that can't be bothered to have a human read invited human-submitted text.

[hackernewds]

> what would think of a candidate who submits a computer-generated text for me to read

how would you know?

[frollo]

I'm not involved in my current company's hiring process, but in past companies I just skipped the cover letter.

It doesn't say anything useful anyway.

[rpmisms]

If they built the tool, hire them immediately.

[lucb1e]

Ah yes, I wanted to add that but forgot. Agree on that one. If they can explain to me how it works, how it was built (and not just "I curl $aicorp"), then it's probably positive rather than negative. We do have to get to that stage, though.