What about the cover letter? I guess it is pretty important.
I think it is even harder for a developer to come up with something compelling, as we can always put technical stuff on the resume, and we know what we're talking about, while the cover letter has to be more about motivation and writing something related to that particular company/job you're applying to.
I think cover letters are critical. I've gotten interviews based on the strength of my cover letters alone.
The way I think of them is you are buying their time and interest with a cover letter. A resume may get you a few seconds, but a cover letter buys you a few minutes.
You can do a lot with a few minutes provided you keep them interested. The key is to write something that they are interested in: Why you are going to make a difference there.
I loathe writing cover letters. Definitely much harder than resumes. The best cover letters ought to be the result of thorough research into the company and the job opening, telling a compelling story of why you are the right candidate. And after you put in all that work, it will get the same passing glance as the resume. Something very disheartening about it.
One of these days I'm going to send somebody a cover letter that reads "You need code for money. I need money for code. Looking forward to hearing from you!"
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What about the cover letter? I guess it is pretty important.
I think it is even harder for a developer to come up with something compelling, as we can always put technical stuff on the resume, and we know what we're talking about, while the cover letter has to be more about motivation and writing something related to that particular company/job you're applying to.
I think cover letters are critical. I've gotten interviews based on the strength of my cover letters alone.
The way I think of them is you are buying their time and interest with a cover letter. A resume may get you a few seconds, but a cover letter buys you a few minutes.
You can do a lot with a few minutes provided you keep them interested. The key is to write something that they are interested in: Why you are going to make a difference there.
Cover letters are really important. At CV Compiler, we give our users the following cover letter formula:
There’s a great cover letter template in The Google Resume book (on page 92).
I loathe writing cover letters. Definitely much harder than resumes. The best cover letters ought to be the result of thorough research into the company and the job opening, telling a compelling story of why you are the right candidate. And after you put in all that work, it will get the same passing glance as the resume. Something very disheartening about it.
One of these days I'm going to send somebody a cover letter that reads "You need code for money. I need money for code. Looking forward to hearing from you!"