I am shocked by how many people don't send a covering letter with their CV

ohreally

SuzieSue wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by your last point?

How would you respond to a cv that disclosed the applicant was disabled (not simply informing of adjustments ahead of an interview)?
Or listed certain school attained qualifications that permitted the applicant to be "aged" by their inclusion (suddenly the applicant is informed they are over qualified).

What do you do with cv's which contain a DOB?

Job seekers are likely to include elements into a cv which perhaps should not be included.

SuzieSue

ohreally wrote: »

How would you respond to a cv that disclosed the applicant was disabled (not simply informing of adjustments ahead of an interview)?
Or listed certain school attained qualifications that permitted the applicant to be "aged" by their inclusion (suddenly the applicant is informed they are over qualified).

What do you do with cv's which contain a DOB?

Job seekers are likely to include elements into a cv which perhaps should not be included.

I wouldn't mind any of those things to appear on a CV. As long as it they don't say anything illegal it doesn't bother me.

lazer

Personally,

I woul tend not to send an actual covering letter if sending a CV via e-mail, but would send a slighty extended e-mail detailing why I am interested in the job,

eg:
I am applying for the position of XXX as advertised.

I am very keen to work for a dynamic (etc, etc ..) company, and feel that I would bring XY & Z to your company.

I have attached my CV, which I believe demonstrates that I have the skills and experience required for the role

Thank you for you time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Would this be suffice, or do you think it is generally best to include an actual covering letter?

caledonian_princess

How interesting, I've always done things the other way around when recruiting. I scan the CVs first looking for key skills, experience and I don't look at covering letters until near the end of the process. My rationale was that a 2 sides of A4 CV should be enough to show that you have the skills/experience I need, if it doesn't then no amount of special pleading in a letter will change that. So, a beautifully crafted covering letter might well get weeded out long before I get to the reading covering letters stage. Having said that, we always had a lot of applicants for positions and there just wasn't the time to read everything; due to volume of applicants I've heard of some employers reading every third CV, a friend in recruitment excludes long covering letters in the same way she does long CVs because she thinks it's a back door way of adding a page to your CV. I think this is an area where things are in a state of flux at the moment and there isn't actually a correct procedure.

SuzieSue

lazer wrote: »

Personally,

I woul tend not to send an actual covering letter if sending a CV via e-mail, but would send a slighty extended e-mail detailing why I am interested in the job,

eg:
I am applying for the position of XXX as advertised.

I am very keen to work for a dynamic (etc, etc ..) company, and feel that I would bring XY & Z to your company.

I have attached my CV, which I believe demonstrates that I have the skills and experience required for the role

Thank you for you time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Would this be suffice, or do you think it is generally best to include an actual covering letter?

I would consider this to be a covering letter. However, I would expect the person applying for the vacancy to go through the job spec and tell me what qualifications and experience they have which makes them suitable for the job.

For example if the job spec said that they would be dealing with the public, I would expect the covering letter to say when in their career they have done this.

This is what I used to do when I was applying for jobs over 10 years ago, but my question is that as it appears that no-one seems to be doing this, am I being unreasonable?

SuzieSue

caledonian_princess wrote: »

How interesting, I've always done things the other way around when recruiting. I scan the CVs first looking for key skills, experience and I don't look at covering letters until near the end of the process. My rationale was that a 2 sides of A4 CV should be enough to show that you have the skills/experience I need, if it doesn't then no amount of special pleading in a letter will change that. So, a beautifully crafted covering letter might well get weeded out long before I get to the reading covering letters stage. Having said that, we always had a lot of applicants for positions and there just wasn't the time to read everything; due to volume of applicants I've heard of some employers reading every third CV, a friend in recruitment excludes long covering letters in the same way she does long CVs because she thinks it's a back door way of adding a page to your CV. I think this is an area where things are in a state of flux at the moment and there isn't actually a correct procedure.

Yes, I also think that covering letters should be succint and to the point and perhaps even use bullet points to highlight the most important points. Most recruiters will not have the time to read long rambling covering letters.

Gleeful

SuzieSue wrote: »

However, I would expect the person applying for the vacancy to go through the job spec and tell me what qualifications and experience they have which makes them suitable for the job.

Have you specifically asked applicants to do this, if this is what you want?

i.e. 'Please include a covering letter stating how your skills and experience make you a good match for this role.'

SuzieSue

Gleeful wrote: »

Have you specifically asked applicants to do this, if this is what you want?

i.e. 'Please include a covering letter stating how your skills and experience make you a good match for this role.'

No, but I now wish I had. As I haven't recruited for years I didn't realise things had changed so much with regard to covering letters which is why I am asking this question.

Does any one know what people looking for jobs are told about covering letters? Are they no longer told how important they are?

skylight

Yes - I think you are being unreasonable with the amount of detail you seem to want in a covering letter. That's what the CV is for, surely?!!

You can't make a decision on a covering letter - I have had lots of covering letters that have been tailored to meet the job requirements but dont match the CV (and vice versa!) and a quick glance through the CVs for your keywords should suffice

hcb42

I would expect a tailored covering letter too/or email obviously.

I expect it is a case of firing off too many CVs from a website. Too easy.

I don't know why it has been suggested they should use an application form, very few companies do, only large ones and the public sector in my experience.

As to candidates putting information on a CV which they dont need to i.e. DOB. Well justy because it is there doesnt have anything to do with whether the company is acting lawfully or not. very often age is obvious from qualifications and work experience - and all decent employers/HR managers would not use it for discriminatory reasons.