Applying for any kind of job position is stressful. What it mostly comes down to is a few minutes of the interviewer’s busy schedule that determines whether or not you are fit for the company.
While many young people go through the trouble of writing and editing both their resume and cover letter, sometimes even that’s not good enough. Some employers simply don’t have time or patience to go through cover letters that are essentially there to showcase your ambition and motivation.
Positions such as administrative assistants or data analysts have no need for a cover letter to be included but that’s not stated anywhere. So when is a cover letter a complete waste of time and when should you only focus on your resume instead?
Lack of experience
In some cases, a lack of experience can be addressed through your cover letter and explained to the employer. In most cases however, the employer simply won’t care. Today’s youth and graduates are encouraged to volunteer, go through internships and gather relevant experience before applying for a job.
While not everyone can afford this, it’s quite possible to fill out your resume with enough community work and a few internships and land a job with no problems whatsoever. What it comes down to is improvisation, and a lack of experience will rarely be covered through a cover letter.
Poor communication skills
Most graduates fail to comprehend the importance of written communication in their applications. Companies and their internal structure require people who are able to join a system and work just like everyone else. Grammar and formatting mistakes in official company documents are out of the question, meaning that candidates have to go through additional training and trail work.
Writing a cover letter without a proper grasp of what kind of information you want to communicate to your interviewer will result in getting a thank you note rather than an interview appointment. What it comes down to is writing a proper resume without going into narrative details of why you are applying and what your goals are for the future.
It’s certainly possible to take a look at the list of writing services and get professional help with writing your cover letter; this will only get you so far. List all of your experiences and skills, leaving communication as a topic for the interview where you can explain yourself face to face.
Experienced competition
Employers always take a look at the resumes before even glancing at the cover letters. This means that people with longer careers and more working experience will always have a head start. In some cases, that advantage is so predominant that writing a cover letter simply doesn’t make sense.
Try finding out how many other candidates applied for the job you are aiming and what their general profile looks like. Adjust your application so that you stand out from the crowd but don’t add any information that isn’t true. There’s nothing worse than landing a position that you don’t like or have no adequate skills for. If there are a lot of experienced candidates applying alongside you, adjust your expectations and don’t have high hopes abut that particular position.
Generic in large quantities
People tend to think that writing a cover letter will make you stand out among a large number of candidates. While it may be true, the same rule applies in reverse – too many cover letters can look generic and mundane in the eyes of the employer.
You are not the only person who came up with the idea of writing a cover letter – ten other people did the same, and five of them have the same motivation you do. Focusing on your resume and past experiences is sometimes a better idea than spending time on your cover letter. Employers don’t even read cover letters until the interview starts, and even then they glance through them or leave them on the table while you talk.
Predetermined forms
Many companies tend to give out formatted questionnaires that their candidates should fill out before coming to the interview. These questions are focused on the personalities and soft skills of the candidate, making sure that their candidates aren’t wasting their time. What this means is that your cover letter is a complete waste of time. It will not only be tossed aside but seen as a negative from your employer’s perspective.
The application procedure for many companies is strict and thorough – steering away from it just to stand out from the crowd is often not a good idea. Follow company procedure and make sure that there are no forms to fill about your personality before even thinking about writing a cover letter yourself.
Conclusion
Resumes and cover letters go hand in hand, but sometimes your particular company of choice won’t like that idea and wants to try something different.
Don’t waste any time writing papers that you don’t need for your specific position. Read every job application carefully and ask your friends or family for feedback about what you have prepared for the application. If you follow the rules and do as you are asked, the right employer will certainly hire you.
