from Hacker News

Ask HN: Do I need to write a cover letter?

by chagaif on 1/14/23, 6:36 PM with 4 comments

I have been working for 3 years now as a software developer and I have applied to countless jobs. I feel like the fact that I didn't really put too much effort into seeing if the job actually was a fit or not actually helped me not spend too much time on having to filter jobs. I just applied for everything and some companies replied while others didn't. I have a friend who is looking for a job in the pharma industry in Switzerland and I was thinking she could apply the same method. I feel like spending too much time in filtering what job might fit and what won't is a huge part of why people don't like looking for a job and they end up not looking for a job instead of just trying even if some of the random applications will be a total miss.

What are your opinions on the matter? Are there any articles about this kind of stuff?

I guess the more broader context is quality vs quantity? I tend to prefer quantity and prefer to filter at later stages for the quality...

  • by sloaken on 1/14/23, 9:43 PM

    Purpose of a cover letter in tech, is to get your resume past the HR department. HR is notorious for not understanding tech. If your resume is the only one they get, then no need for a cover letter. If they get 100 applications then you definitely do. Where the break line is I do not know.

    Ditto for the thank you note. If you are the only candidate, then they should be thanking you.

  • by blinded on 1/14/23, 6:50 PM

    Nope. Applied and interviewed a half dozen places in the past 6 months. Didn’t use a cover letter. But for sure be ready to chat about why you want the job.

  • by nonethewiser on 1/14/23, 6:46 PM

    I've had good success with very short cover letters. Like 2-5 sentences which basically just lists skills I have that are mentioned in the job post and declaring interest.

    Basically, "I have x, y, z and I'm inteterested in this thing you're doing because I like whatever"

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