The cover letter can be the difference between getting the offer or not.Ī large percentage of today’s job postings either require a cover letter or make it optional. It introduces who you are in a way that goes beyond the resume, it demonstrates your interest in the position and the organization, and it inspires the reader to take action. And it may seem reasonable in this environment to assume that, as a jobseeker, you’re in the driver’s seat and don’t need to write those “optional” cover letters.īut a cover letter - a good cover letter - is worth the time and energy when you want the job. It’s a great time to be looking for work. Today, in the wake of the “Great Resignation,” a lot of companies are scrambling to fill record numbers of employment vacancies. Before this job, I spent several years as a recruiter for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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Smith School of Business, I help candidates get jobs in consulting and professional services, among other fields. As the director of MBA Career Coaching at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. The only time you don’t need one is when the job description specifies: “No cover letters, please.”įor many years, I’ve advised professionals as they navigate their career searches. The bad news is that the cover letter is never really “optional.” With those three words, you are blissfully let off the hook on that arduous but tedious task. So when a job posting includes the words “cover letter optional,” it can seem like a relief. They can seem awkward or even boring when you’ve written many.