As I have essentially been searching for a job since I graduated college four years ago, I have become well-versed, and supremely annoyed, by the necessity of a cover letter. At first, my distaste with the document stemmed from having an extremely difficult time writing positively about myself. When it comes to me, I'm blatantly honest with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor that often translates into an awkward lack of confidence. Whether that is born from any kind of reality aside, the process of writing even a generic cover letter to send to multiple companies became an onerous task. Then, in my opinion, I found my stride.
Then, it was posited to me that I should be writing specific cover letters to each job I applied to, lest someone find out they were hit with a blanket, cover-all cover letter. Here is why I am so resistant to this.
It takes me probably about a week to come up with a legitimate, well-thought-out cover letter that properly explains what I've done, without sounding too lame or boring. And then it takes even more time to refine it. Then more time to revise, adjust, edit, rewrite, and whatnot to fit each company I am applying to. And then, after all of that work JUST to get a readable, engaging cover letter written, I ALMOST NEVER hear back. And thus, what becomes my motivation to put all of that time and effort into a cover letter when the result is the exact same as if I simply put a link to my website in the body and attach my resume? Right. Getting a job. Except, that has only sort of happened. And it never happened on the back of my cover letter. I'd much rather let my work speak for itself.
Short and simple, but informative stuff on cover letters! Cover Letters
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