Cover letters?

In the last week 3 former co-workers have approached me about positions available at their current companies (hiring anywhere from "before January" to "Februrary-ish"). I have kinda been looking for a new job, but mostly for jobs that I would be qualified for after I get my master's degree (which should be in May). I have no idea why I am suddenly so special, but whatever. I'll take it!

So these people have already suggested me for the jobs, discussed my experience, and talked me up a bit to their bosses. I generally always attach a cover letter but usually that's to introduce myself to a company or hiring manager who has never heard of me and has no idea why they should hire me. I am leaning toward including a cover letter just to direct their attention to items I want to highlight. Do I need cover letters here? Thoughts and opinions?

 

A cover letter will definitely showcase your professionalism as well as give the hiring manager the best points of why they should/should not hire you. You can definitely make a much better impression with a well balanced cover letter!!

 

X2... I think the cover letter can only help you. Best of luck!

 

Can't hurt.i'd rather do more then needed then chance it.

 

yes! you should put one because it will show you are intelligent, and can write professionally, granted you can spell and put together a sentence... haha

 

x3

 

X4

But keep it short and to the point, they don't want to read essays.

 

x17

 

Good luck, by the way.
It seems like the economy is truely picking up, because I have heard more and more people getting approached by head hunters or friends regarding new positions.

 

TW has spoken!

Thanks guys. I am lucky to work in an industry that has continued to be relatively strong even through the worst of the economic doldrums. That's not to say it doesn't go through its own boom/bust cycles and slows down like everything else. I'm early in my career, and I'm not used to people approaching me about jobs, I've always had to go out and hunt them down. I'm surprised at some of the former co-workers who have approached me, definitely reinforces that you should be kind and helpful even to coworkers you don't especially like. Not only is it just the right thing to do, but you never know if it might help you down the road.

 

Any one know a link that has good examples of CL's?

Personaly I hate writing CL's. I never know if anyone ever reads them or not. I send out a lot of resume's, but I notice they get a quick scan and that's about it.

 

one of the wisest things my sister ever did was to make copies of every GREAT resume and cover letter that came across her desk.

format is easy..crafting the words is the challenge.

 

I'm not so sure how awesome my cover letters are. I must be doing something right, my record on this last round of resume submissions was 8 interviews from 10 submitted resumes.

As far as my resume goes, my cousin is a professional typesetter, and a huge part of her business is writing and designing resumes. She's even written a couple books about it. My graduation gift from her was her services writing and designing my resume. It's something I seriously recommend for a job search, a professionally-designed resume definitely catches the eye as you go through a stack of resumes.

 

No offense, but granted this is the case, then do it. If writing isn't your strong suit... best to highlight your other strengths in person or on paper!

 

You obviously already have your answer, but yea, you should always include one regardless IMO. I even had one when I was applying for a position where my cousin was a manager in the department. It's never going to hurt you (unless you somehow make yourself sound like a moron lol) but could definitely be seen as a major omission if you don't include it.

 

Covers are good. Keep them short. Introduce yourself, and give a few highlights. That should be all.

 

A little late to the party, but wanted to throw out my 2¢ as well...

My background: I'm a hiring manager for a Fortune 50 company. I hire engineers for $60K-$150K/yr careers.

My experience: Cover letters are ignored. If your resume doesn't speak for itself, I'm not going to read your cover letter. And if your resume does speak for itself, I don't need the cover letter - I'll call you if your qualifications fit the job needs or if something interesting in your resume sparks my curiosity. Focus on editing the content of your resume so it speaks for itself rather than trying to express yourself in a cover letter. And grammar counts.

When a resume comes to me, it's been copied and pasted from a digital format on our jobs site or Monster or some other job site. I rarely see the original formatting, so again, your resume should speak for itself even if the whole thing is formatted in 10pt Helvetica with no paragraph breaks. Only focus on formatting if you're sending a PDF directly to a hiring manager (because you have an acquaintance with that person) or if you're handing someone a paper resume. Otherwise, simple is better and tends to get munged less when copied/pasted it into a web form.

I realize that all industries are different, but hiring managers for large companies tend to approach reviewing candidates in the same way. Your resume is your shot at getting the job, not its formatting and not your cover letter. Focus your attention accordingly.

Hope that helps and good luck!