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>Someone sensibly suggested that one way to screen resumes is to only read
>those with a cover letter, and moreover to use the resumes and the cover
>letter as criteria by which to judge the applicant.
I suspect many managers do this, although it may not be an official policy.
I've told this story before, but it bears repeating for those who are
job hunting. The last time I was sending out resumes, I started with a quick
formula. The cover letter was very generic, a boilerplate text that simply
dropped in the date of the ad for the job, the job title, the name of the
contact point mentioned in the ad. That was about it. The response was
somewhat low.
Several weeks after starting this, I began to listen to the advice of people
who suggested more care in the cover letter. With each letter, I'd add
an extra paragraph or two that told why I felt I was suited for the job. I'd
mention some specific points that made it clear I'd at least read the ad
and retained the information on that long trip over to my keyboard.
The response rate on resumes shot up sharply. It can't be a coincedence.
Rick Lippincott
Boston Technology
Wakefield, MA
rjl -at- bostech -dot- com
