Should I write a cover letter, and does anyone read it?

Efri · 1 min read

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Mostly nobody reads them. Especially generic ones, and especially when there are hundreds of applicants.

But that's the wrong framing, because "cover letter" is doing two different jobs.

The formal document attached to a portal application: largely ignored. Write something short if it's required. Don't spend an hour on it.

A short, specific message to a named human: completely different, and it works. Three or four sentences to the actual hiring manager saying you understand what they're trying to solve and here's why you're relevant. That gets read, because almost nobody does it.

So: don't write cover letters. Write messages.

And if you do write one, make it about them. The letters nobody reads are the ones about how passionate the applicant is. The ones that get read are the ones that show you understood the problem.