Are they even really in vogue anymore? I certainly only get given candidates resumes.
Even 12 or so years ago you could have a generic CV/Resume and just customize the cover letter each time pointing out your relevant experience & interests etc.
Now it seems like they expect the resume to be customized and many places don't really allow for a cover letter as such on their online applications etc.
Of course, if you're managed to find a 'name' to contact rather than a faceless HR inbox etc. then it may still have merit in which case do as Zdas & M^2 say. Don't make it too long just a few short paragraphs to show you have some idea what the company does and how you could help them/fit in etc.
Written English was never my strong point. I can but try. I expect my limitations in that regard limited my career opportunities at times. I guess it was offset by other aspects when I made successful applications.
Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &
I would always send a cover letter if given the opportunity. All the advice above is excellent. Live it & breathe it if you want your paperwork to survive the initial screening process.
Consider the modern conundrum: hiring managers must wade through a tsunami of resumes. The filtering process is no longer surgical, it's done with a bulldozer. Craft yours so that it stands out from the herd. I had a discussion with a hiring manager and he told me for every position posted, the HR Weasels get 2000 electronic resumes. HR filters the stack to 200 for review. The hiring manager opened each resume and pressed the F7 key for spellcheck. If ANYTHING popped up, he deleted the resume without looking. I informed him that most spellcheck dictionaries find fault with engineering terminology. <deer in headlights> And THIS level of chowderheadedness is everywhere in the management ranks. Beware.
I keep a quote from "Elements of Style" by Strunk & White, a journalist's bible of sorts, recommended by my journalist-parents:
[blue]Eliminate needless words. Vigorous writing is concise.[/blue]
I love that quote. But I violate it all the time. Good writing is darn hard work.
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
OK I deserved the thrashing I received in the first, few post.
I agree my posting should have been more correct & better explained.
I am limited on the time I can spend typing, & my typing skills are not really that great, I do use spell check but it does not catch it all.
I do appreciate all the replies,
I will follow up later with more in depth questions.
some time I believe I do make my cover letters too technical. so there is a good chance it's popping up as misspelled words.
secondly it use to be that an applicant would put his or hers accomplishments on the cover letter. is that still applicable?
It's easier said than done to explain 33 years of experience in one cover letter so there's the question.
I purposely made the question vague as not to narrow the amount of responses, & not lose thinking out of the box.
This may not have been the best approach. LOl.
Mfg, the cover letter is not intended to explain your 33 years of experience. The cover letter is meant to state: this is the position I am applying for, this is when I am available for an interview, this is how you contact me. It should be no longer than 1-2 short paragraphs. It should be tailored to each specific company to which you are applying. Some would disagree, but I feel that a well-written email would suffice as a cover letter.
Work experience goes in a resume.
If you are able to secure an interview, that is when you wow them with your experience
Most of all of my past employers had hired me by reference from previous co-workers & Friend "word of mouth"
thats why I am having difficulty with this now.
the manufacturing industry is leaving my area so it's harder
to obtain work locally.
At the request of "guidance counselors", I started out adding cover letters to my resume, tailored for each job. Man, what a pain, and I know they were usually tossed without a single word being read. I stopped doing it wholesale shortly after, and may have only done it once or twice since. It has probably been 10-15 years since I wrote a cover letter, and from what I can tell it has made zero difference in response rate/style.
![[bigsmile]](/data/assets/smilies/bigsmile.gif "[bigsmile] [bigsmile]")