Comments on: Cover Letter Help: Top 4 Reasons Why Sending One Is A Bad Idea

By: David Segal

David Segal — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:20:26 +0000

Once Again, John blazes into un-chartered areas, with this lively topic. I personally find Cover letters to me useful only to state Salary requirements and prefer to keep very brief.
I have my “objective ” on my resume matching the jobs I apply so it is redundant most times to send a cover letter.

I’ll have to remember that “above the fold” next time I stuff envelopes with eye catching invoices I need to have paid.

Thanks again

By: Elaine Sutherland

Elaine Sutherland — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:14:45 +0000

I always send the cover letter & resume as attachments to the e-mail and probably always put the cover letter first. ie 2 separate word documents.
What is the best way to send job applications via e-mail as I’m not sure if i’m doing it right?

By: admin

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:22:37 +0000

Hi Deborah, you bring up a great point. From my perspective, I would separate the two. I do not like opening what I think is a resume and then seeing a cover letter. it can be confusing. My first thought is always “Where is the resume?” and some people may not scroll down to find it. You have 7 seconds to convince someone to read further and not delete. If you look in the archives I did an audio podcast about the “7 second resume” and I talk about the importance of being “Above the Fold.” It is an old newspaper term but very useful in the internet age. Above the fold refers to what your resume looks like “before” you scroll down. This is an important part of your resume.

By: Deborah W.

Deborah W. — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:27:03 +0000

Enjoyed your article. Using email for cover letters and resumes is new to me since I was at the same company for 20 years. I’ve emailed many resumes and have included my cover letter as my first page with my resume following. Do you think that has happered my chances of having my resume read?

By: admin

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:24:25 +0000

Very well said, Adiana. I could not agree more. You are right not all Accountants are great writers. Those that are successful in the Corporate arena know where their strengths are and they maximize them.

By: Adriana Estrada

Adriana Estrada — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:08:15 +0000

Great article and I couldn’t have worded it better myself! A good rule of thumb as a candidate is to represent yourself the best way possible. If you don’t feel confident writing a cover letter, don’t do it. When you are pursuing a position, make sure that whatever you send to the prospective hiring manager, recruiter, or company representative that it’s the BEST representation of yourself. Make sure to get another pair of eyes on your resume to confirm it has no errors. Have a friend help you with the cover letter if it’s a must in order to be considered. DO NOT allow yourself to be unfairly judged because writing is not your best skill…not all accountants have good writing skills and that’s ok!

By: admin

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:12:28 +0000

Rody, you bring up a great point. One of the things that bothers me the most is when a candidate mentions in an email that he saw my posting on a job board in which I do not use. It doesn’t make you feel all that special when candidates make errors either by mentioning the wrong position, job board or company name.

By: Rody

Rody — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:28:11 +0000

I also agree with the reasons for not sending a cover letter. The careers section on our company’s website requires applicants to upload both a cover letter and a resume. I seldom review cover letters anymore but when I do I find that some candidates will upload their resume in both fields. Instead of receiving a cover letter and a resume I get two resumes. Others will not tailor the cover letter and will mention the name of a job board we don’t use where they claim to have seen our job posting.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:01:02 +0000

Hi Tony,

It is not a bad practice to paste your cover letter into the body of an email so that it will be read. However, I would do significant changes and make sure that it is not too long. On my side of the fence, I see way to many emails where candidates are just pasting a long, boring cover letter into the email. They lose me from the beginning. To be honest, the first thing I look for in a resume is a good presentation and nice layout. It has to be “easy on the eyes” and needs to have something grab my attention at the beginning of the resume.

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:29:40 +0000

As a job candidate, it doesn’t sound like good advice to tell others not to include a cover letter with their resumes.

If I’m sending a letter directly to a company, I’m going to paste my cover letter inside the body of the email with my resume following. I’ll attach the two documents to the email just in case the recipient wants to save a copy on file.

In the occasion I’m sending to a recuiter, I don’t send a cover letter attachment but I still write a personalized email with my resume pasted below and a resume attachment.

I like where you’re coming from because a very generic and boring cover letter doesn’t help you screen during the early phase of filling an order. You need to know quickly what levels of leadership and quality experience they’ve received.

I’d be interested to know what are the first things you look for when you receive a new resume and how do you filter through the hundreds of candidates when a new position opens up?