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Mar. 26th, 2006 01:32 pmHappy Birthday ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tigertoy
tigertoyMar. 26th, 2006
Cover Letters - explain, please?
Mar. 26th, 2006 09:15 pmFor reference - I'm applying for jobs in computer support in a large metropolitan market. Usually these jobs will be with large companies - over 1000 employees.
I don't understand why I should write a cover letter. In a reply to a post ofnorabombay, someone pointed to a web-site that had a sample letter, and some rules to follow. The rules started with 'address the letter to the hiring manager - if you don't know who it is, use his title or functional position, NEVER use 'To Whom It May Concern'. They went on to discuss what kind of content you should put in.
This makes no sense to me. Or rather, it makes very limited sense to me. If I'm applying for a position at a small firm (unlikely, but possible) where I know someone, then I could see this. However, practically all of the positions I'm applying for are with large companies, with HR departments which have at least one person who's full-time job is to deal with incoming applications and/or resumes. According to all the HR people I've spoken with who work in such environments in the last 5-7 years, they throw away any cover letter, take the resume, scan it in, and usually OCR it so they have searchable electronic format. If I'm applying using e-mail, the application goes straight into their database - again, any cover text / cover letter is tossed.
So, why am I writing a cover letter? Is my understanding of what's happening in HR departments of large companies for their IT staff that broken? If so, exactly how is it broken?
I don't understand why I should write a cover letter. In a reply to a post of
norabombay, someone pointed to a web-site that had a sample letter, and some rules to follow. The rules started with 'address the letter to the hiring manager - if you don't know who it is, use his title or functional position, NEVER use 'To Whom It May Concern'. They went on to discuss what kind of content you should put in.This makes no sense to me. Or rather, it makes very limited sense to me. If I'm applying for a position at a small firm (unlikely, but possible) where I know someone, then I could see this. However, practically all of the positions I'm applying for are with large companies, with HR departments which have at least one person who's full-time job is to deal with incoming applications and/or resumes. According to all the HR people I've spoken with who work in such environments in the last 5-7 years, they throw away any cover letter, take the resume, scan it in, and usually OCR it so they have searchable electronic format. If I'm applying using e-mail, the application goes straight into their database - again, any cover text / cover letter is tossed.
So, why am I writing a cover letter? Is my understanding of what's happening in HR departments of large companies for their IT staff that broken? If so, exactly how is it broken?