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Cover letters
Cover letters are optional on almost every application, which makes the question of when to write one worth answering directly. This cluster covers openings, length, and how to reuse one without it being obvious.
Do cover letters still matter
We checked 20 live openings at 7 well known companies. A cover letter was optional on 19, missing on 1, and required on exactly none of them.
Reusing a cover letter without it showing
One letter can serve many applications if you know which two sentences must change every time. Here is the reusable part, and the part that never is.
The additional information box is not a cover letter
That free text field at the end of a form has a different job. Here is what belongs in it, what does not, and when leaving it empty is the right call.
How short a cover letter can be
Shorter than you think, and shaped like an argument rather than a summary: three paragraphs, one claim each, with the evidence left in your resume.
Cover letter openings that are not filler
The first sentence decides whether the rest gets read. Four openings that work, one that never has, and why naming the role in line one wastes space.
When a cover letter is worth the time
Nobody requires one, so write one only when it does a job no other field can: a career change, a gap, a referral, or a stretch role you want anyway.