Seriously stupid question here: I have been applying for jobs, and I get the normal rejection- totally fine and expected. I have seen how bad the economy is! But is there any way around making a cover letter that feels a bit more universal? I've essentially been custom-making them for the respective company, and that's been just such a timesuck and, quite frankly, tedious! Any advice??

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Who told you to send a cover letter at all. I’ve never sent one.

likehelpful

Addendum- I was busy accepting a fabulous job offer when your ‘CL’ post popped up and I neglected to address your eloquent phrase- ‘timesuck,’ which, according to Merriam-Webster (yes, it still exists, ask AI) you misspelled. Your descriptor explained clearly why writing a ‘CL’ poses for you, a massive job hunt obstacle. Finis

funny

I do it if they ask for it (required or optional). If they don’t, then I don’t. It is just another way to stand out in a market where there could be 100 applications for a job and it takes less than a minute for someone to make a call on your resume (if it gets to human at all). So it is always going to be tedious and job search is a lot of work

You can make the structure universal. Like what needs to be the first para, second para and then last one - which basically should be plugging the company and position name. And then you need to pick and choose the skills or experiences you want to highlight. You can use AI tools.

upliftingsmarthelpful

This person didn't say you have too.. they said you could

I am 64 years old and every job I had I didn’t write a cover letter for. Every call for a job I didn’t write a cover letter. I let my resume speak for its self.

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Well for phlebotomy the resume is going to speak for itself, but for other careers its best to have a cover letter or have a connection. You are going to need a cover letter incase you get and actual human to read the resume.

helpful

I often will have my intro paragraph be fairly general, and customize the body to the job/site I'm applying for. I find the pieces of their mission statement that I like, and just connect it to myself in the body, I do it a sentence per statement. You could also probably just put the mission statement page into AI and have it pull that for you as a draft then go from there.

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Yeah, I do this as well; however, I do write out my CL's without AI, as I personally do enjoy writing and tailoring.

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Your expertise and experience is what it is, and you should be applying to jobd that align with that. If you are looking to make a careers pivot your better served looking for and fostering relationships that can get you hired on somewhere.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets an interview based solely on a well-written and broad cover letter. In doing so you are less likely to stand out flr roles that suit your experience.

Thanks for this message. I am glad to know that I am not wasting my time when I put real thought into them and actually try to show that I put the time and effort into reading what they do and what they stand for. To note, this is a first step into a career. Thank you!!

If you re friend with Chatgpt..she'll create anything you need and it'll sound personal ly You

I always write a cover letter, usually gets me an interview.

Good to know they are worth the time. Thanks so much! I think it's more about a particular requirement I need that is putting me in this position. Thanks for replying!!

I fewl your pain, I went through it and hated customizing cover letters that more than likely won’t be read. I would suggest including it for those applications that make it a requirement.

As a hiring manager it doesn’t weigh into my hiring decisions.
In my opinion this is an outdated 200’s practice that shouldn’t be used anymore.

Thanks so much for this reply! I think I what frustrates me the most is the likelihood is that it won’t even get to a real person. But regardless it’s skills I guess to write?

I really appreciate this.

If your going to send Cover letters. Have chatGBT create a quick one

I laughed out loud! I don’t think I’m ever gonna forget that. Thanks so so much for your kind words and delightful humour.

Congrats on your fabulous job offer!!!

Funny, I was always told not to create a generic cover letter, but to tailor it for each employer. That being said, you can still have a base letter as a starting point, ready to be easily customized.

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