“Is the application cover letter necessary anymore?” I hear many people ask! In years gone by there was a necessity to include a detailed cover letter with your application for any job you applied for. In today’s job market where there is less formality, particularly with most applications being submitted via email or through online application systems, many job seekers are left to wonder if there is any benefit in preparing an accompanying cover letter or email with your job application. 
People differ in their views around this topic. However, when seeking employment at the executive or senior level, where you have limited time and space to sell your past experiences and your future potential, it is my belief that the covering letter or email can only serve to enhance your application.
Think of it is an extra opportunity to market yourself! The saying of “tell them, tell them and then tell them again’ also rings true when applying for jobs. Having a well written and relevant resume, with a concise and engaging career objective and covering letter or email, all serves to reinforce the same message of why they should be considering you for the job. Like any form of marketing or advertising, this is simply the beginning of the process. At this stage of the process you are looking to grab the reader’s interest and attention, with the objective being for them to want to call and meet with you.
Below I have detailed some of the key pros and cons of including a covering letter or email with your job application.
Pros
- Provides an opportunity to create a more professional impression and shows that you can write and show a degree of detail
- Reinforces your interest because you have taken the extra time to prepare the accompanying letter or email
- Enables the reader to understand why you are applying for the job, particularly when your work history may not be as relevant to the job you’re applying for
- Enables you to include extra content that you may not have had the opportunity to feature extensively in your resume
Cons
- Requires extra time spent on writing a cover letter or email that may never be read
- If the accompanying letter or email is poorly written or irrelevant then this can create a negative impression
- Can appear odd if you have no contact name to address the letter or email to, suggesting they may not be interested in reading it
- Some recruiters and hiring managers use software to match key words, resulting in your information only being read if it makes it through the matching software
Letter & Email Writing Tips
- If there is no contact name in the job ad, simply address the email or letter as Dear Whom it may concern / Hiring manager / Recruiter
- If there is a name and company, ensure that you include these with the correct spelling and adjust accordingly for each application
- Keep the letter to a maximum of one page
- Select only a few key points to highlight in the letter
- Use strong and active language to engage the reader
- When making key points, quantify and qualify them (don’t include information that is vague and unsubstantiated in any way)
There is no real etiquette today around including a cover letter with your application and it is very much a personal choice. However, for Executive and Senior levels, it can only create a more professional impression and provide you with an additional opportunity to sell yourself and bring you that next step closer to securing the job.
