The aggressive cover letter

I sent my application package to the Miami Herald when they were looking for a Dolphins writer back in July. I pretty much knew I was a looooooongshot at best, but I figured what the hell and tried to compare myself as a writer to a DE/OLB in Saban's defense: flexible, adaptive and can be used in many different situations. I never heard back from everyone, but I figured that it was something different and might have at least stood out a bit. Was that a bad move altogether, or do SEs like to see something original like that?

 

Completely agree.

I despise cover letters in general. Hate reading 'em, hate writing 'em. I think they're a waste of time, for both parties.

 

I disagree. They do a good job of keeping coffee and cheez-it stains off the clips.

 

I agree with buck on this one. I'd almost rather get a resume with clips and no cover letter. I think a cover letter can do more harm than good sometimes -- especially if you oversell yourself as the next Mitch Albom. You can write the best cover letter in the history of cover letters, but if your clips suck, you ain't getting an interview.

 

I can't tell you how many cover letters I've been through. Too many to count.
This might come of prickish, but here goes:
I'm to the point where I get through the resume and the first clip. If I make it through the third clip, I might then check out the cover letter. If I make it through the cover letter, I'll check out the rest of the clips. There is a progression.
And, since hiring has been so tight the last 4-5 years, it is almost an exercise in futility.

 

Freakin' hilarious. Awesome!

I'm sure my cover letters sound an awful lot like the next person's, but I take the opportunity to do it in Quark and show off some basic design skills and font selection. Nothing fancy, very clean, but a bit more eye-catching than Helvetica and block formatting.

 

Helvetica is still a thing?

I haven't seen it for a decade. (Or maybe I have but haven't been able to identify it as Helvetica.)

Also, cover letters are awful. Clips and resume. Done done.

 

did the dude quote you as saying you were looking forward to helping him unload his u-haul and move into his new digs? if so, we got the same guy.

 

You have maybe less than 20 seconds on a dance floor, time practically melting away faster than the nerve conduction velocity, to make your sales pitch and persuade the lady that you're the right man for the job. It's the same shit with a cover letter, a practiced and mastered art of coercion.

 

I'm of the same mind as most on this board. Generally, the shorter the better. There's really very little that you can put in a cover letter that you can't put in a resume. If you're that good, your clips will show it. There is such a fine line between confidence and cockiness, and it is easily blurred when put into writing. You're not going to be hired based on your letter, but your job packet may be tossed based on it, so be careful. Save that confidence for the interview.

 

Cover letters suck, because for whatever work you put into them, all they can do is keep you from a job, not help you get it.

 

well said.