[joshSzep]

Does anyone read cover letters?

The practice originated from when we printed out resumes and literally needed a sheet of paper to cover a resume for privacy purposes. In modern times I am never printing resumes; they are just a PDF on my computer.

[arp242]

I've been hired and the quality of my cover letter was specifically cited as a reason (also later confirmed by the HR lady who tried to hit me up when she was really drunk, when she kept banging on about it for some reason, but that's a different story).

So some are reading them at least, n=1 etc. I usually use them to supplement my CV, by pointing out things that are relevant for this specific position, or listing things that aren't on the CV (and usually shouldn't be on the CV) but still relevant, like a specific open source project I contributed to, or something from my personal life that relates.

[yunwal]

It seems like in practice it’s basically used as a filter for resume spammers. If the cover letter is required then it means the person was willing to spend 20 mins of their day applying for this specific job, which is a bit too expensive for people applying to hundreds of jobs and seeing what lands

[tiim]

Seems like this is not a great filter anymore with tools like this and generally LLMs that can generate believable cover letters en masse.

[drudoo]

I’ve been reading covers letters for most applicants we receive. Generally we get 25-40 applicants (IT management or specialists positions) and if the CV looks half decent I’ll always read the cover letter.