Still Wondering if Cover Letters are Necessary? The Data Might Surprise You.

In December, ResumeLab released the results of a survey where they polled 200 hiring decision-makers to get their opinion. The respondents included external recruiters, in-house HR team members, and hiring managers.

In this study, 83% of hiring decision-makers said a cover letter was important even if they did not read them and gave preference to candidates who submitted them even if it wasn’t required.

This data aligns with my personal experience in recruiting. While I didn’t always read them, I definitely gave greater weight to candidates who submitted professional-looking letters. Candidates who failed to submit one or made a half-hearted effort to write anything at all were less likely to be taken seriously,

Why? Because making the effort signals that you are serious about the opportunity.

And what do recruiters and employers find useful with them? According to survey respondents:

Still not convinced?

Take a look below at data from the ResumeLab survey, which shows that even if a cover letter is optional, submitting one can significantly boost your chances of getting an interview.

And yet, when a job ad says that a cover letter is optional, only 35% of candidates attach one to their submissions. If it says one is required, only 38% bother providing one.

By the way, this study isn’t an outlier. It’s consistent with studies going back several years.

In short, if you want to show you’re serious about a job opportunity, a great cover letter can help you get an interview. It’ll probably elevate your candidacy, even if your resume isn’t as good as other candidates, and will definitely give you an edge over people whose qualifications are roughly the same.

If you’ve been a cover letter skeptic, I hope this data changes your thinking.

Don’t discount the importance of a cover letter.

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