Do Recruiters Really Read Cover Letters or Just Focus on Resumes? Seeking Your Insights

Hi Recruiters,

Please tell me how much importance you give to cover letters. As it is understood that the candidate needs a job and you need a candidate, do you read the cover letter seriously or just get to the resume and scrutinize it? As major recruiters are graduates, freshers, what is their opinion on cover letters?

In Naukri.com, there are two options: one is with a cover letter you can apply, and the other is without a cover letter (quick apply). I sometimes apply with a cover letter/email my resume to the recruiter, or sometimes just quick apply, which is easiest, and in one click, you can apply to many jobs at a time. So, the recruiter reading my application, would he give importance to the cover letter or just go through my resume and see if it matches the job or not.

Please give your valuable inputs.

Hi Shaitaan :)

First of all, let me tell you that it's quite difficult for me to address you as Shaitaan. I wish I knew your name. When I used to work in IT, I would go through the cover letters of only people with more than 5 years of experience because those applying for senior positions usually provide a synopsis of their entire profile in their cover letter, which is helpful for a recruiter. Frankly speaking, I have never gone through any cover letters of freshers. I think it depends on the recruiter how much importance they give to cover letters. I hope this answers your query from my end.

Thanks and Regards,

Indrani Chakraborty

Hi Shaithaan, (Hey RXXX, what's wrong with you? :wink:, tum Shaithaan ho... to sabko pata hai.)

I generally don't give much attention to the cover letter......

Hi,

It again depends on person to person. Some people pay attention to the cover letter to quickly understand the resume. Some recruiters are keen to understand the intention of a prospective employee through the cover letter. Again, it depends on the individual.

Regards,
Nagesh
Hyderabad

The importance of a covering letter for me -

Hi, I'll share with you what I did in real -

- good profile without a covering letter... I ask them to immediately write one and then hand it over to me.
- average profile without a covering letter... I put it in the pending list and then after the process, it is used as a scribbling pad.
- poor profile without a covering letter... straight to the dustbin.

In all cases, I ask for a covering letter, and it's a must for me.

Now, once, a good profile without a covering letter - I asked him to write it immediately and hand it over to me - he argued - I tore it to pieces in front of him and told him that his interview is over! Thanks. That's VENU.

I need no supporters nor non-supporters. My view is down under in Hindi,

"Shareer ko sunder kapde aur Resume ko sunder covering letter."

Hi, I believe diplomacy is one of the major things that HR has to incorporate, and I see no diplomacy in what you have done (provided you are not recruiting for the military). As the years have passed, employers are starting to adopt an open-door policy with employees. It's still strange; the applicant was arguing about being asked to make a cover letter. It seems the guy did not want the job. One of the best things a cover letter is supposed to do is to invite the reader to review the CV, so most of the time, this piece of paper is what gives the right impression.

For me, I have always followed a 3-step recruitment process: one being a telecon with the applicant after reviewing their CV, the second being a personal interview to assess communication skills and attitude, and the third being technical tests if needed. So far, I can be sure that I have not recruited an applicant who did not fit into our system. This is not meant to be offensive to your comments, but these are truly my views, which are not intended to hurt anyone personally.

Thanks and regards, Jain

It depends on a recruiter how he/she gives importance to the cover letters. I personally give importance to it. I read the cover letters of all the experienced profiles. It gives me a quick tour over the profile.

Maria

Hi Venu,

Being a part of the HR industry, you should not react to people in this manner if they argue. You need to convince them because after all, you also need a good candidate as much as they need you. I find it unbelievable that you let a good candidate go just because he did not write a cover letter, and that too in this manner. Strange!

By the way, I never give that much importance to a cover letter if the profile is good.

Hello,

I feel covering letters are vital in the sense that they are a true representation of a candidate to any prospective employer.

Regards,
Raja Gopalan

Dear All,

Yes, if you are careful and take the time to read attentively, it will help you. Also, if one takes the trouble to examine the envelope, especially if it is a hard copy submitted by the candidate, even that will convey a lot of information to you. Every detail assists in making a better decision, provided we have enough time for it.

Best Regards

Dear Shaitan,

I don't agree with Mr. Venu; however, every recruiter has their own way. But what Mr. Venu shows is not true professionalism because even though that profile was good and suited his requirements, he wasted it just because of this type of attitude. Ultimately, he wasted his time and energy in sourcing, and I believe he may have lost a good candidate.

Anyways, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. If I did, I'm sorry.

As far as I am concerned, cover letters don't have much importance when you are looking for good profiles. I don't look much into the cover letter because it does not give much idea about the candidate and their profile. They will simply mention the reference from where they learned about the opening and briefly discuss their suitability for the position. I don't think this gives any advantage to the recruiter, and ultimately, it is a waste of time for the recruiter to read the cover letter.

This is only my opinion, and I don't believe everyone may agree with this.

Let us see more views on this.

Regards,

Sree

Dear Govind & Sreekanth_vu,

Thank you for your views.

Dear Sreekanth_vu, I am in agreement with your viewpoint. It is understood that the cover letter serves as a formality, where the candidate mentions the source of the job listing and expresses interest in the position. However, by focusing directly on the resume, we can promptly assess what is relevant. Some individuals may exaggerate in their cover letters, only for the recruiter to discover discrepancies in the resume later on. It is better to be concise and to the point, unless you wish to analyze which platforms garnered the most attention from candidates based on their cover letter references.

Thank you very much. More views are appreciated.

Best regards.

Hi Folks.

From a recruiter's point of view, I would say it's not a must for me, but yes, if it's there with the resume, I will love to see it.

Next, it depends on the cover letter and the applicant's intellectual and writing skills to put forth the points with the least words in relation to the position he is applying for.

Regards,
Raul