Is the cover letter really outdated?

“To submit your application, please send us a CV and cover letter.” Who, in the context of a job search, whether for an internship, a summer job or even a permanent contract, has never dealt with this request? And who has never asked himself “but what is the point?” ”

Recruiting is a complex mechanism where a single poorly adjusted cog can lead to failure. From a company point of view, the aim is to reduce the risk of a recruitment error as much as possible. We want to ensure the qualifications of the person who will be recruited, but also of their desire to occupy the position. And so, in a pre-Internet world where postal and handwritten methods are preferred for submitting an application, what could be more logical than asking a candidate to express their motivation in an attached letter to assess this aspect?

Yes but now, it is no longer by post that we send our CV to apply for a Job offer. However, many companies are still fond of this traditional exercise: so, is it really outdated, at a time when we can find a motivation letter template in 2 clicks on the net or even that of the rise of generative AI such as ChatGPT?

Given the numerous criticisms that crystallize around the cover letter, one would be tempted to answer “yes”. Candidates complain that they do not have enough information about the position to be able to project themselves well and therefore express sincere motivation. As for recruiters, they find themselves sifting through letters that are all the same, not very personalized and that do not help them in their decision-making: a waste of time, in short. How did we get here?

A tool that has lost its meaning

The purpose of the cover letter is to give a candidate the opportunity to prove his motivation and therefore, to stand out from other candidates to increase his chances of land a job interview. The problem is that, when it is mandatory, it becomes for many an imposed figure and loses all personal substance: for the most part, they become barely modified variants of a example of a cover letter found online.

However, in the daily life of a recruiter, as in any job, time management is a key factor. When you have to manage twenty recruitments, more than 200 applications or when you also have to conduct 10 interviews in a week, you will understand that it is difficult to devote time to such reading!

How do you write a simple and convincing cover letter?

You will have understood that in this context, if you want your cover letter to be read, you really have to hold attention and Encourage the recruiter ! For write a simple cover letter and stand out, you can already take note of the most common major mistakes so as not to reproduce them:

• Copy and paste to the chain in 36 applications, where sometimes even the name of the recipient company has not been changed,
• The verbatim recitation of the resume, which does not provide any new information,
• The braid of praises full of falsehood: no, you have not dreamed of working in this company manufacturing citrus juicers since your early childhood...

It's always easy to say, but it's important to include things that will really add value:

• To counter the No. 1 mistake, write a personalized cover letter! Take factual elements from the job description that interest you and link them to specific excerpts from your professional experiences. So be careful to choose the ones that are relevant to the position !
• To counter mistake #2, include elements that go beyond the content already in your resume: what are your career goals and how can this position help you reach them? What projects would you like to carry out? Feel yourself allowed to develop personal topics!
• To counter error No. 3, do not put yourself in an inferior position but adopt a more informal tone, with short sentences, without burdening yourself with a Politeness formula too rigid like” Please accept madam, sir ” or” Please accept madam, sir”. A simple” Heartfelt greetings ” may be enough, for example, but be careful not to fall into too much familiarity. Also remember to read yourself well to avoid spelling mistakes, and to break down your remarks into several paragraphs.
• Our bonus advice: you can even use the graphic charter of the company where you are applying for the layout of your letter. Guaranteed effect! Also remember to name your letter well (exit the “LM_vdef (7)”) and to send it either in an email body or in PDF format as an attachment.
• Bonus tip 2: reread your letter out loud! So you will immediately notice the turns that do not seem natural or that are too pomp. Also, do not hesitate to ask a friend to help you with the proofreading exercise.

In summary, take the time to apply well! Because yes, it takes time to customize all these elements. Of course, if you want to prepare several applications, you can repeat some elements, you are not going to start from scratch each time! But it is essential to focus on quality over quantity. Not only will you improve your return rate, but you'll also instinctively focus on positions that really caught your eye, which will help you express your motivation in a genuine way.

Motivation, not just a matter of letters

Keep in mind that no matter what may be said about the cover letter, it is only the entry point for an application. There are many other ways, often much more effective and impactful, to express motivation in the context of a recruitment process. You may write the most beautiful cover letter in the world, but it will not ensure the success of your application!

Getting an interview is the first step. We could go back at length to this exercise separately — which we can discuss in another article — but if you want to go further, we can give you several tips.

The first is probably the most obvious: bet on your CV too! Everything that has been said about the common mistakes in cover letters can also be applied to CVs: so there is also reason to stand out! A personalized, well-organized resume that highlights your professional background with a targeted intro to the position to be filled will instantly stand out from candidates who make the mistake of offering a generic resume that is generally unsuitable for the job they are applying for.

Then, beyond the CV and the letter, you can send a motivation email to the recruiter after your interview to renew your interest in the position by highlighting the key points that caught your attention during your exchange. This short exercise highlights to the recruiter not only your investment in this recruitment process but also your degree of understanding of the expected missions. It is always appreciated!

If you want to go even further, we encourage you to contact company employees directly! With the magic of LinkedIn, it is possible to find collaborators in a few minutes who are part of the team you could join. Once again a way to show your motivation but also for you to look for a additional information that could make a difference, with the opportunity to learn more about the working conditions that await you.

And then imagine the reaction of the recruiter when he will debrief your exchange with the manager of your application: “You realize, he wrote me an email after our interview to reaffirm his motivation and he took the time to ask someone from the team, I don't see that every day! It is really coming to us.” There, you score points!

The particular case of the spontaneous application

All of the advice we've given so far is particularly effective when you know what the Target position. But in case you want to try your luck without having a job description, simply because a company inspires you, how Demonstrate of its competence?

In this case, we recommend that you Make a simple cover letter which places particular emphasis on what attracts you to the company you are applying for. You can even go further by offering scenarios where you think you can be useful in connection with your professional experience, this will allow the recruiter to better understand your motivations.

Also, keep in mind that sometimes, regardless of the cover letter, it can still happen that recruiters don't read it, so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get any feedback. It is also a real challenge for the profession, in order to improve the image of recruiters! At Skillink for example, we are committed to giving an answer to each candidate, so if you are interested in recruitment, submit your application in the “Join us” tab!

If you were curious to go and have a look at this tab, you will have probably noticed that we do not ask for any cover letter. So why devote an entire article to it?

Despite everything, a support that is still (sometimes) relevant

As we said in the preamble, the motivation letter is increasingly contested in its usefulness in relation to the time that must be devoted to it, both in writing and in reading it. In 2023, the recruitment trend is to give it less importance, driven in particular by several HR influencers such as Karim Hechmi aka “Uncle Karim”. As a result of this groundswell: fewer and fewer companies are asking for a cover letter in their recruitment process! This trend is even more confirmed in sectors known as “under stress” such as IT.

At Skillink, as a firm that operates particularly in the digital sector, we are concerned by this gradual disappearance of the cover letter. We think that it is indeed ineffective to impose it on all candidates who wish to apply, but on the contrary, we find it counterproductive to end it purely and simply because in some cases it can be of real importance.

Imagine for a moment that you have a career of more than 15 years behind you in marketing and that you want to reorient yourself in a completely different sector of activity, say recruitment for example. If the recruiter only reads your resume, they will see your experience and maybe a short 2-3 line text that explains your interest in the position. In the context of professional redirection, the cover letter can be a powerful ally in making your possible future employer understand why you applied for their offer! It therefore seems deeply unfair to us not to allow candidates the opportunity to send a cover letter if they wish to do so to support their application. At Skillink, we ourselves recruited a recruitment consultant who, following a retraining, contacted us with a cover letter. Not sure that we understood his approach at first glance without a letter!

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As you will have understood, the purpose of this article is not to declare yourself for or against the cover letter. Although the current trend is towards a decrease in its use, it is still in high demand and it is therefore necessary to be well prepared for this complex style exercise. By following our advice carefully, we are confident that you will improve your chances of finding a job that you like! And if you want to be accompanied, you can also contact us directly and we will see what we can do to help you. 😉