Cover letters — is anyone actually reading them, or am I burning my evenings for nothing?
I spend 30-40 minutes tailoring a cover letter and then half the applications don't even have a field for one. The ones that do feel like a checkbox.
Part of me thinks a strong project plus a referral does 10x more than any letter I could write. But then I get scared that skipping it costs me the one recruiter who actually reads them. What's your honest read — worth the time, or theater?
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AnonymousAnon Genuinely mixed evidence here. My compromise: a tight 4-5 sentence note, but only when there's a real human likely to read it — smaller companies, a direct hiring manager. For big-co portals feeding an ATS I stopped bothering and my callback rate didn't budge. Save the energy for where it actually counts.
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AnonymousAnon I stopped writing bespoke novels and built one strong 3-paragraph template I lightly customize per role — 10 minutes, not 40. Never noticed a drop in callbacks. The time I saved went into projects and asking for referrals, which actually moved the needle. Full custom letters for the 2-3 roles I really want, template for the rest.