Cover Letters: How Much Do They Matter?

The short answer would be a lot. But perhaps a little elaboration would be useful! A surprising amount of people don’t attach a cover letter to their job applications. The result of this is that many keen candidates miss a trick. It may enable you to apply for a lot more jobs and save you time, but it makes you less likely to move further in the hiring process through any of the applications you made. So why is that cover letter so vital?

Straight on the ‘No’ Pile

Being the applicant that hasn’t written a cover letter automatically makes you fall behind all the ones that have. It means that sometimes your application won’t even get considered, and if it does, you’re relying solely on your CV to secure you the job—which is a mean feat in today’s competitive job market.

Elaborate

Your CV is a statement of your achievements, but you’ve got limited room to expand on each one of highlight why they make you ideally suitable for the role. This is why a cover letter can help you a lot. Anything you want to draw the employer’s eye to or find out more about you can highlight in your cover letter. It should complement your CV by drawing on the same key points, but going into them in more detail.

Extra Effort

If a job ad requests a cover letter and you don’t provide one, it will suggest you simply didn’t read it properly. Which doesn’t put you in good stead for making a dazzling impression, or getting the job. Conversely, if the job ad didn’t request one and you attach one, it shows that you’re extra eager to get your application through to the next stage.

Tailor Your Application

When tweaking your job application to appeal to a specific employer, it’s important to make sure your CV emphasizes your suitability for the company. However, there’s not necessarily ample room for you to express your desire and passion to work for the company. You do have room for this in a cover letter, so should certainly prioritize it.

It’s plain to see how something simple such as a cover letter can be so pivotal to applying for a role. So next time you see a job that you could really see yourself doing, be sure to write a winning cover letter to send alongside it.