resumes and cover letters

[Galaril]

I am applying for a new job in IT security area and wonder since I haven't written a resume in quite some time. Do most HR hiring managers and other managers reviewing resumes like to see cover letters. I was thinking of just skipping the cover letter and have the resume begin with a summary of the job postion I am looking for. What exactlty is the purpose of a cover letter and can I just not use one?

[Warhammer]

The point of a cover letter is to show interest in the position you are applying for and relating how you can fill that position best. Resumes just show what you did, a cover letter explains how that experience is beneficial to the new position.

Many people that take the applications weed out the ones that do not include cover letters with the resume.

[Bo Jackson's Hip]

I would include one because if you write well, the opportunity to display that skill will be more readily apparent with the inclusion of the cover letter than with just the resume. However, if it's for an IT job, I'm not sure writing well is a skill that is all that coveted.

I have found in the past that the jobs that I applied for with a clear and cogent cover letter expressing my interest in the job in detail have given me a much higher rate of return on initial interviews.

Good luck, at any rate.

[JeeberD]

My girlfriend is about to graduate with an HR degree and has been working an HR internship. I just sent her your question and I'll let you know what she says when I get her reply.

Just a warning, though. She's very picky when it comes to resumes...

[Ksyrup]

Just make sure you get like 10 people to review the cover letter for errors. If there's a mistake - and especially if it's egregious - the only reason we hold onto them is to laugh at them later.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Just make sure you get like 10 people to review the cover letter for errors. If there's a mistake - and especially if it's egregious - the only reason we hold onto them is to laugh at them later.

Actually, since I have been working overseas for like a decade but am relocating back to the US one issue to deal with. Icome back with no job in hand and since I haven't been working for an US business or in the us at all I can't collect an unemployment. So, getting this resume /cover letter stuff is Extremely important to not only getting a job but to put food on the table for my family.....Therefore I am going to hire a professional resume writing service help me write my resume. The cover letter question here is just so I can save some money, with psosible . A resume costs like $200 and a cover letter is another $80. Anyways thanks to everyone who has responded great information keep it coming.Thanks.

[Warhammer]

I can see hiring a service to go over your resume, but I wouldn't worry about it with the cover letter. The main thing is to have a coherent, thoughtful, error-free letter that conveys your interest in the position. The main thing is to have one. As someone else pointed out, not that they use them for anything, but you do tend to get a better response when you send one.

[JeeberD]

And here was my girlfriend's response:

The purpose of a good cover letter is for you to sell yourself on key points
relating to the job you are applying for. While your resume should be short
and very concise, (1-2 pages at the most), your cover letter is a way for
you to explain the knowledge, skills and abilities (HR refers to them as
KSAs) that you posess.

Another thing to help you out: HR looks for certain specific words in your
cover letter and resume that will match what we are looking for. We call
these "hit words." These help us skim a resume faster and are very helpful
when we have quite a few resumes. There is technology now that does this
for us when you submit your resume electronically. My advice to you would
be to sit down and read the job desciption for the job you are applying for.
Use the same words they use when writing your resume and cover letter. This
will ensure a better chance of your resume surviving the "hit word" test.

I would be happy to look over their resume and cover letter if they want to sent it to me with the job description.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you would like her to look them over for you...

[Galaril]

Thanks when the time and job positions come I just might take you and her up on it.Thanks.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

And here was my girlfriend's response:



I hope that helps! Let me know if you would like her to look them over for you...

Wow. The more and more I learn about this process of getting a job, the more nauseating it is: "No, we don't really care if you can do the job- but what we do care is if you know the buzzwords and if you have a comma splice"

I know that's oversimplifying but I think my hatred of HR just grows and grows. They seem more and more like the boundary between me and being able to talk to someone useful who cares what I know.

SI

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Wow. The more and more I learn about this process of getting a job, the more nauseating it is: "No, we don't really care if you can do the job- but what we do care is if you know the buzzwords and if you have a comma splice"

I know that's oversimplifying but I think my hatred of HR just grows and grows. They seem more and more like the boundary between me and being able to talk to someone useful who cares what I know.

I could be wrong, but I don't think that answer was pointing out looking for buzzwords. I read that as...if the job description is talking about wanting skills for specific things, you should include those specific skills in the cover letter. If the job requires experience with PeopleSoft, talk about how long you've worked with PeopleSoft. Any skill that is listed as required should be identified by name in the cover letter with a discussion of the relevant experience. This helps the HR department know that you are responding to their specific job posting and not just sending a general cover letter.

[Raven Hawk]

Here's a couple of key things to note about HR people (I, being one of them).

1. We are extremely picky when it comes to resumes/cover letters. If you have typos and bad grammar, we'll pick it up immediately. Sometimes this will eliminate you from the process, mostly it just serves as two strikes against you (unless you are applying for a creative position, then we just laugh at your errors and keep reading).

2. We are not experts on any jobs other than HR jobs. What that means to you is that we can look for buzzwords and the like, but we can't comprehend the lingo of the job. Keep the lingo in the resume, because you want the resume to make it into the hands of the hiring manager and you want them to see that you know the lingo.

3. Since we are not experts, there are a couple key things that we look for in a resume:
A. Grammar/Spelling: As I said above, we look at this because it is actually something that we know about. A spelling mistake in your resume or cover letter tells us that either 1) you don't care enough about getting this position to double check your work or 2) you don't pay attention to detail or 3) both 1 & 2.
B. Employment History: We don't like seeing job hoppers. If the market it hot, you can get away with being a job hopper. Just remember that when the market cools off and your resume shows that you hopped from job to job every other year for the past 10 years, we're not going to think much of you. If you are truly a mercenary, then you should probably become a consultant. Stop wasting my time. If you have a history such as this, you should be able to explain it well enough to make look as though you are not a mercenary.
C. Employment Gaps: With the recent recession, a lot of people have had the misfortune of being laid off. That's OK. What's not OK is not being able to explain it well. This one won't get you're resume tossed, but be expected to explain it when you receive a phone screening. Don't be bitter about an ex-company. That's an emotion that is easily picked up even over the phone. Just make sure you can explain these gaps of employment well. If you can't, it will probably get knocked out of the applicant pool.

Jeeb's GF is pretty much right in her analysis of the 'hit words.' There are applications out there that do this. I personally think that they are overpriced and useless, but it helps to skim through a high volume of resumes/cover letters in a short period of time. What works better are the applications that a company might have at their website. I know a lot of recruiters that won't take faxed resumes anymore. Do yourself a favor and go to the company's website and use the application tool that they have there (if they have one). This will be their preferred way of receiving a resume. These online tools also will ask you specific questions about the requirements of the job and is quite a bit more reliable than 'hit word' counts.

When you pay for your resume to be done, make sure you get them to give you an RTF or TXT version of your resume as well. Many online applications won't accept Word formatted resumes, but do accept the other two file types.

Before you engage any part of your job hunt, make sure that you know the purpose of all the tools at your disposal.

Cover Letter/Resume - It's purpose is to get you a phone screen or interview.
Phone Screen - It's purpose is to get you an in-person interview.
HR Interview - It's purpose is to get you an interview with the hiring manager.
Hiring Manager Interview - It's purpose is to get you a job offer.

I have often heard people complain about HR being "in the way" of a person getting a job similar to SI's rant. HR's job isn't to pick the right person for the job, it's to remove the wrong people from the selection process. In the end, the hiring manger will make the decision as to who the right person for the job is. If the hiring manager had to screen all the resumes, they'd never get their regular jobs done. It may seem like we get in the way, but there is a defined science to picking good candidates for hiring managers to see. That's why good recruiters get paid well. Some HR departments obviously do it better than others.

This may be too much knowledge for some to ingest, but I hope that it helps. I've noticed that we've had quite a few job seekers out there as of late.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I am applying for a new job in IT security area and wonder since I haven't written a resume in quite some time. Do most HR hiring managers and other managers reviewing resumes like to see cover letters. I was thinking of just skipping the cover letter and have the resume begin with a summary of the job postion I am looking for. What exactlty is the purpose of a cover letter and can I just not use one?

It likely depends on the company, but I have friends that work in HR at very large tech companies, and according to them, writing a cover letter for jobs at, say Microsoft, is worthless. They receive so many resumes that it will not get read. What they do is a run a key word document search based on the role they are looking for. A cover letter might be worthwhile for a smaller company though.

What has been successful for me is changing to an achievement oriented (assuming you've been working for a few years) resume with lots of buzzwords. It sucks to have to include terminology for terminology's sake, but companies run searches on keywords, just like you might go to Monster and search for jobs based on keywords.

It also gives them a clearer understanding of your specific area of expertise. Since roles in IT can be nebulous, that's helpful to them.

[Galaril]

Once again desnudo and Ravenhawk thank for the great insight and info .

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Just make sure you get like 10 people to review the cover letter for errors. If there's a mistake - and especially if it's egregious - the only reason we hold onto them is to laugh at them later.

I have a special file for resume foul ups, bleeps and blunders. We pull them out during slow days at the office. My all-time favorite was a woman who applied for a writing job in response to my request for three writing samples felt that her cover letter and resume should count as two and for her third submitted a poem she wrote.

Raven Hawk and Jeeber's imaginary girlfriend offered some great advice. I don't work in IT, but I can say that I would never consider a resume from someone who didn't send a cover letter. I think it demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and committment. If you're not willing to go the extra mile to get the job, why should I expect you to go the extra mile once you have the job?

When hiring people I specifically ask for a cover letter, resume and three writing samples. If you don't do those three things, it automatically tells me that you don't follow directions, pay attention or have the skills necessary for the job. When responding to job postings, make sure you watch for what they want and give them that.

Once again, I can't speak for how it is in IT, but I think the best resume is a page long but no more than two pages. A cover letter should also only be one page. I have enough to do without reading your life story. If you can't convince me to interview you in a one-page letter and a one-page resume, more information isn't going to help.

One more thing -- even though you need to tailor your cover letter and resume to the job, just be careful. I receive way too many resumes addressed to the wrong person or applying for the wrong job because someone wasn't paying attention. I'm interviewing right now and I recently received two resumes from the same person, one with a letter addressed to me and one addressed to someone else applying for a different job.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I have a special file for resume foul ups, bleeps and blunders. We pull them out during slow days at the office. My all-time favorite was a woman who applied for a writing job in response to my request for three writing samples felt that her cover letter and resume should count as two and for her third submitted a poem she wrote.

My favorite is the girl who sent an essay in as a writing sample which attempted to dissect the reasons why women performed better than men- suggesting towards the end the probability that men were just dumber. It was amusing when I asked that question at lunch...

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Jeeber's imaginary girlfriend

She also say not to waste your $200 on a resume service...she'll be more than happy to help you out.

kcchief...do you actually think that I would have been able to write something that coherent myself?

[Raven]

Contrary to what's being said here, I've heard that employers spend about 10% of their time skimming your resume, and 90% reading your cover letter.

Is that not true?

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Raven

Contrary to what's being said here, I've heard that employers spend about 10% of their time skimming your resume, and 90% reading your cover letter.

Is that not true?

I think it depends a lot on the industry and the size of the company. At a large company where you're talking about filtering through hundreds of resumes, I'm not sure a cover letter is worth the effort.

Obviously if you write a good cover letter, it can't hurt you though.

[Raven Hawk]

Originally Posted by Raven

Contrary to what's being said here, I've heard that employers spend about 10% of their time skimming your resume, and 90% reading your cover letter.

Is that not true?

From my experience, the practice seems to be dependent upon volume. The more resumes that come in for a position, the less likely it is that somebody will read your cover letter. So like Desnudo said: At small companies there's a good chance that your cover letter will be read. At larger companies, they often have tools that sort resumes without being read. However, if your resume makes it through the sorter, there is a 100% chance that your cover letter will be read. So cover letters ARE important to the process.