Our Verdict
Cover letters aren't dead — but mass-produced ones might as well be. When a job posting asks for one, submitting a strong, tailored letter remains one of the few ways to distinguish yourself early in a hiring process. When a posting is silent on the subject, a concise, specific letter still signals effort and communication skill that a resume can't convey alone.
Cover letters matter most for first-time job seekers who lack an extensive resume, are changing fields, or are applying to roles at companies where culture and communication style are core to the job.
The State of the Cover Letter in Modern Hiring
The cover letter has been declared dead roughly once a year for the past decade — and yet hiring managers keep asking for them. The reality is more nuanced than either camp admits. Whether a cover letter matters depends heavily on the employer's size, the role, the industry, and how your application enters the system.
At large corporations, applications are typically filtered first by an ATS — software that scans for keywords and qualifications before a human ever sees your materials. In those pipelines, cover letters may receive little weight, or none at all. Understanding how ATS filtering works is essential context before deciding how much energy to invest in your letter.
At smaller companies, agencies, and nonprofits, a hiring manager often reads every application directly. In those contexts, a cover letter is frequently the first thing reviewed — and can determine whether the resume gets read at all.
Pros: When a Cover Letter Works in Your Favor
A well-executed cover letter does things a resume structurally cannot. Here's where it genuinely earns its place in your application.
Demonstrates genuine interest in the specific role
A tailored letter signals that you researched the company and position rather than mass-applying. Hiring managers consistently say specificity is what separates letters they finish from ones they discard.
Explains context a resume cannot
Career gaps, field changes, or non-traditional backgrounds are difficult to address in bullet points. A cover letter gives you the space to frame your path clearly and on your own terms.
Showcases communication and writing ability
For roles that involve writing, client interaction, or collaboration, the letter itself is a work sample. A clear, direct letter demonstrates skills that a list of credentials cannot.
Can tip the decision between similar candidates
When two applicants have comparable qualifications, hiring managers often report that the cover letter — or its absence — becomes the tiebreaker, particularly at smaller organizations.
For first-time applicants especially, the cover letter is often the only place to explain why you're interested in this specific role at this specific organization. Employers hire people, not bullet points — a letter that connects your background to their actual work signals that you've read the job posting carefully. See our guide on how to read between the lines of a job posting to identify the details worth referencing.
Cons: When a Cover Letter Wastes Everyone's Time
Not every cover letter helps. In several common scenarios, writing one delivers little return — or actively works against you.
Generic letters signal low effort immediately
A letter that could apply to any employer — one that recycles vague phrases like "I am a motivated team player" — often does more damage than submitting no letter at all. Recruiters recognize templates instantly.
ATS systems may not parse or weight them
At large employers using applicant tracking software, cover letters may not be searchable or scored. Time spent on a letter could be better directed at optimizing resume keywords for those pipelines.
Time-intensive to do properly at scale
A genuinely tailored letter takes meaningful research and writing time. Applying to dozens of roles with custom letters is difficult to sustain, forcing a tradeoff between quality and volume.
Rarely recovers a fundamentally mismatched application
If your qualifications fall significantly short of the stated requirements, a cover letter is unlikely to move the needle. Energy is better spent finding roles where your background is a real fit.
When the Posting Is Silent on Cover Letters
If a job application doesn't explicitly ask for a cover letter, check whether the submission form provides a text field or document upload option. If it does, a concise, targeted letter is generally worth including. If the system only accepts a resume file, don't force one in. Always follow the application's explicit instructions first.
If you choose to write a cover letter for a role that didn't specifically request one, keep it under 250 words. Brevity signals self-awareness and respect for the reader's time.
What a Strong Cover Letter Actually Contains
If you decide a letter is warranted, the structure is straightforward. Avoid the trap of restating your resume in paragraph form.
- An opening that names the role and anchors your interest — reference something specific about the company or position, not a generic statement about being "passionate about opportunities."
- One or two concrete examples that connect your experience or skills directly to what the posting describes. This is where pairing hard and soft skills effectively pays off — show both in action.
- A brief, confident close — express genuine interest in next steps without overselling or begging.
83%
Hiring managers who say cover letters influence decisions
A survey by ResumeGo found that 83% of hiring managers reported cover letters as important to their decision-making when provided.
2x
Higher callback rate with tailored cover letters
ResumeGo's research indicated applications with tailored cover letters received roughly twice the callback rate of those submitted without one.
Cover letters are also where you can address gaps or transitions that a resume raises but can't answer — a year off, a shift in field, or limited formal experience. A sentence or two of honest framing beats leaving a recruiter to guess.
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