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> In a cover letter, you have less than 5 seconds to
> get the reader to go to step 2, reading your
> resume.
Myth.
> You want to talk about filling the company's
> needs, not your own goals.
Shallow.
> They are not unimportant, but in a cover letter
> they are a liability.
Myth.
> At that stage, all the company
> wants to see is whether
> you have the skills and experience it needs.
Shallow.
A good hiring manager saves the cover letter for last.
Why?
It's the HUMAN side of the resume!
I know a lot of hiring managers. The first thing they
all look at, believe it or not, is last/current place
of employment. Why? People are, by nature, curious.
The second part that's looked at is the skills
section. If the candidate has some of the core skills
listed, then the entire job history section is read to
learn where these skills were learned and used.
Finally, the rest of the resume is scanned for any
other interesting content. Then, if the candidate's
resume looked good/interesting enough, the cover
letter is read to see what kind of a person this
candidate is.
Now, this isn't law by any means. But, a good majority
of hiring managers I do and have known have looked at
candidates in this fashion. It's the most
time-efficient means of filtering candidates (except
for the first part, but human tendencies are hard to
filter out).
=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)
"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
-- Geoff Hart
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