Cover letters are garbage

The job application process is so impractically antiquated.

An employer asks you to submit all your qualifications, your resume, maybe even “requires” you to complete an unpaid project as part of the interview process, makes you go through 98736641 interview rounds…

So tell me why applicants are also responsible for writing fanfics about their own experience and how that aLiGnS with that particular employer?!

And that’s not even taking into consideration the fact that upon initial application, you don’t know anything about the company. All you can possibly “know” is the descriptions that are available online, or possibly second-hand accounts from various sources.

Be so for real.

First of all, why should you convince a company to meet with you based on a sophomoric essay to serve their lazy “standardized” talent acquisition process?

As an external applicant, you can’t possibly know enough about them to write an essay about why you would be a “great fit” for their opportunity and their organization. I mean, you haven’t spoken to anyone within the company yet to get a better feel for the role and the culture.

Sure, you can say you “want” to work with a particular brand that you did some research on or are a fan of from purely your spectatorship. But unless you talk to employees, or do a thorough investigation, or do a site visit to get a vibe for the environment—there just isn’t reasonable cause to write up a blind homework assignment in your free time.

You may think a brand “looks good,” and why it MIGHT be a great experience to work there, but can you really write even a brief dissertation on why you’d want to “join their ranks” with almost zero first-hand experience and NOT sound contrived?

Sounds phony to me.

Because you’re telling me they saw your resume, which is—in ideal situations—the most clinical and objective description of your experience, and that wasn’t enough to either pass on your background or move forward with your application?

The employer didn’t want to meet with you based on the LOGIC that the role is based on?!

So then why even consider them?

I know some people will say, ok but once you’ve interviewed with a company, why can’t you then submit a cover letter???

BECAUSE.

You met with the company. They got to meet you. And those things should have been discussed naturally through a screening conversation. Interviews are very telling.

So in my opinion, at that point it’s even nore inappropriate to ask for the cover letter.

(Unless the job is specifically a writing job, I’d say cover letters are always unnecessary.)

And even then.

Because if a writing job requires technical writing or creative writing, or any other type of writing, then do THAT type of writing to showcase your skills.

Unless you’re taking a job somewhere where ALL you do is write cover letters, then…I don’t know what to tell you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯