Are Cover Letters A Waste Of Time?

folder_free imageA recent study examined how today’s hiring managers evaluate candidates. As predicted, relevant work experience and skills are the most important aspects of a resume for hiring managers. 74 percent said the most important factor in hiring is the interview. Surprisingly, only 18 percent of hiring managers ranked cover letters as important, being outweighed by the interview, resume, references and soft skills.

As millennials take over management roles, they are relying on a broader set of methods for getting to know potential employees – candidate’s level of education, schools attended and GPA (27%, 13%, and 16%, respectively). With this set of hiring managers, the cover letter paragraphs about passions and key skills seems to be fading out.

So will a cover letter hurt you? Bloomberg points out that 55 percent of hiring managers said typos were the biggest turnoff, so why risk a typo when a cover letter is unlikely to help you land the job?

On the other hand, if you have a stellar cover letter, you may stand out as one of the few people still sending them.

Where do you stand on the cover letter debate? As a job seeker, do you still send them? As a hiring manager, how much weight do you place on these in the interview process? Leave your opinions in the comment box below.