Do Recruiters Read Cover Letters?

In this day and age, with almost everything happening online either through LinkedIn or online applicant tracking systems with resume submissions, do recruiters still read cover letters?

The quick answer is no. Recruiters don’t read cover letters. They don’t look for them. In most instances, you won’t be able to upload a cover letter in an appropriate manner.

Companies have no interest in your personal goals or interests, they only care about the school you attended, the credentials you have, and your work experience.

In some cases a company will hire people for other reasons, such as friends and family hires, but if you are sending in your resume cold with no connection to the company, rest assured that the recruiter or hiring manager is not going to read your cover letter.

Let’s delve deep down and review some more reasons why a cover letter is almost never necessary.

There are times when you should have a cover letter, but if you happen to add a cover letter to every resume you send in to a job advertisement then you might be shooting yourself in the foot. This might be the reason why your resume isn’t getting any response or interviews.

What Sort of Field Are You In?

The first thing to do is to determine what sort of field you are in. Some fields require very little in the way of resume formatting.

If you’re working in the medical field or the labor field, then a simple clean resume format is best. It should have the bare minimum, such as your name and contact info. Then a straightforward chronological list of jobs.

If, however, you’re working in a professional setting, then you will need to have a more fleshed out and substantial resume. You will need one that covers a detailed list of your credentials, the name of the university you went to, as well as information about what exactly you did at prior jobs.

For any sort of medical work or labor role or even non-profit or education work, cover letters are not necessary.

If you’re looking to work in a professional atmosphere, such as an account executive, sales executive, marketing or public relations director, or any other number of situations, then there might be a need for a cover letter…but there is a caveat.

The reason that you might sometimes need a cover letter is if the role required substantial writing. Account executives, marketing and Public Relations roles, and analyst roles might certainly be expected to provide writing samples.  Most of the time writing samples are preferred, so a cover letter is really only a good idea if it’s recommended.

Are You Working with Agency Recruiters?

If you’re working with agency recruiters, there is no need for a cover letter. Not only won’t the recruiters read it, they will likely be annoyed if the cover letter is included in a PDF for your resume or a word document.

If the cover letter is included in the file, then the agency will need to separate the cover letter out and create a separate file when sending your resume to the companies that they work with.

Additionally, cover letters are often very vague and not specific. The best cover letters are the ones that are tailored to a specific job.

If you have a standard cover letter, then it’s not helpful to an agency recruiter.

If the agency recruiter needs you to provide a cover letter for their client once they have decided to submit you, then that’s going to be something that they will come out and ask you for.

There’s no need to create a cover letter unless the job specifically requires it.

Does Anyone Actually Read Cover Letters Anymore?

Yes, people certainly read cover letters. But only when they are requested ahead of time.

There are jobs that require cover letters. These jobs will specifically mention the need for a cover letter in the job posting.

If you are sending a cover letter to a job posting, and that job posting did not explicitly request it, then it is not necessary.

Cover letters are requested for some roles, and in that case, you do need to send in a cover letter. But, make no mistake, you should not approach the cover letter writing process blindly. You should always  follow explicit instructions and make sure that you writing exactly what is requested in terms of process and content.

What’s The Point of Writing a Cover Letter?

In certain areas such as academia, cover letters are exceptionally important. However, recruiters who work in mainstream corporate environments, non-profits, and even blue color and medical fields rarely require a cover letter.

So, when they do, what’s the point? Why would anyone request a cover letter?

Well, it’s to showcase a few things. Each employer who asks for a cover letter will be looking for different things.

The main thing is that they’re not that concerned about what exactly it is you want in your career and more about how you work, what you bring to the table, and a lot of other nontangible.

Some employees are curious about seeing a writing sample, and use the cover letter as the standard. Other employers want to see some sort of non-resume writing and ability to communicate thoughts that a traditional resume can’t.

Each cover letter should be tailored to the specific industry, and ideally company, that you are approaching for work.

Should You Skip Adding A Cover Letter?

The next thing to consider is if you even need to have a cover letter in the first place. Is it something that’s absolutely necessary for your application?

Well, let’s take a second to review it.

Are you an academic? If so, well, then you need to follow academic protocol. Applying for jobs at Universities and Colleges is completely different than applying for work in a white collar professional role, or even a blue color field of work such as medical staffing or labor and social services.

I advise people who want to write a cover letter to really consider if it’s something that’s necessary.

It is only necessary if you have read the job description and see that the company requires it.

If the company that has posted the job requests a cover letter, then odds are that they will have specific information as well.

Sometimes, though, you’re going to be dealing with a job application that only asks you to “submit a cover letter”, then you are going to be operating with somewhat of an open guidebook.

I’m going to cover in more detail exactly how you should write the perfect cover letter when there is no guidance. But, for the time being, suffice to say that if you are sending out your resume, do not send a cover letter unless it is asked for.

What if a Recruiter asks For a Cover Letter

This is a very specific circumstance, and it needs to be addressed with your recruiter. It’s highly unusual for a recruiter to ask for a cover letter, but if they do, take the time to speak with them about what it is exactly that they require.

You should be a bit curious about what exactly your recruiter is asking for. In general, recruiters don’t read or ask for cover letters.

But if you do get a question from a recruiter where they ask for a cover letter, then you haven an opening to ask them exactly what it is that they are looking for.

The only reason why your recruiter would reach out and ask for a cover letter is that they are dealing with a company that is requesting it. If that’s the case, then the recruiter will have a much clearer picture of what it is exactly that the company is looking for.

If you are dealing with a competent recruiter who is capable, then they will be able to guide you on the best method of writing a cover letter. If what you hear is something bland such as just write a typical cover letter, then you know that you’re dealing with a standard low level recruiter. However, most recruiters will have a better idea as to how to approach the problem and how to solve any problems you have.