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Contractor recruiters divided over importance of CV covering letters
Posted Sep 1, 2011
A recent survey has provided an interesting insight into how recruiters process CVs, with wildly differing views held on the usefulness of submitting covering letters with contract applications.
The research, undertaken by CV Writers, polled HR professionals and senior line managers across industry sectors about a variety of topics related to CVs and covering letters.
28% said they wouldn't even look at a CV unless they were impressed by the covering letter; 20% didn't review covering letters at all, and 37% would review the contents of a CV regardless of what they thought of the covering letter.
Interestingly, 40% of recruiters said they often would not forward covering letters to other recruiting managers, so they may be discarded in many cases.
Covering letters are still essential in contract applications
Neville Rose, who is a director of CW Writers, found the differing attitudes to covering letters remarkable:
"It may be that recruiters who don't hold any value in them rely purely on an applicant's CV where information is formatted in a structured way - making for easier comparison. Letters are inevitably more personal."
However, the fact that many recruiters won't even process a CV without a covering letter suggests that contractors shouldn't leave the fate of their contract applications to chance:
"With nearly 30% of recruiters saying they won't even read a CV unless the covering letter impresses them first, the message to job seekers is clear: a good covering letter is vital to your application. The risk of your application going no further because of a poor covering letter is simply too great."
The research also highlights the importance of tailoring your covering letters to the contract role you are applying for:
"The second message for job seekers is not to simply repeat information from the CV but to see covering letters and CVs as complementary. Use the covering letter to confirm who you are, the job you're applying for and, most importantly, briefly summarise why you feel you‟re the right candidate for the job. Use your CV to persuade and convince you've got the right skills and qualities."
The survey also showed that the vast majority of recruiters receive 90% of job applications electronically, and although the future of contract recruitment is certain to lie in online services, only 18% of recruiters see any future in 'video CV' services.
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