What Cover Letter Optional Really Means

What Cover Letter Optional Really MeansWhat Cover Letter Optional Really Means2Cover letter optional. These three little words may landseem innocuous, but they can strike fear into the heart of the job seeker.What does the phrase titelblatt letter optional really mean?Is the hiring manager hoping not to sort through cover letters, but saying theyre willing to look at one if you feel you must write it? Or is this some kind of test in which doing the optional task proves youre serious about a position?The answer to these questions seems to depend on which expert you ask and the nature of the job youre seeking.The recruiter doesnt have time.Sara Brooke, a recruiter at HCA Hospital Corporation of America in Nashville, Tennessee, says in an article from Monster that recruiters dont read cover letters, and hiring managers dont have time to.In most cases, your resume does not go straight to the hiring manager, the article says. Rather, it often goes to a recruiter who then reviews your qua lifications and follows up with a phone call to screen you. The recruiter essentially takes on the responsibility of selling the hiring manager on why youre a good match for the job.But some others disagree with that assessment.Its a test.According to an article from Glassdoor, there could be several reasons for a company to suggest that a cover letter is optional when posting an open position.If they say its optional, they may be vetting out whos truly motivated for the position by who takes the time to compose a cover letter, career coach Hallie Crawford says in the article.Its unimportant.On the other hand, job search expert Hannah Morgan says in the same piece that the companys hiring team members may simply be trying to lighten their load. Leaving the decision to submit a cover letter up to the candidate could be a companys way of signaling that it isnt that important to them, she says.So, that takes us back to square one. To write, or not to write?Regardless of a companys moti vation for using that dreaded phrase, most experts seem to think writing a cover letter is a good idea, as long as it is thoughtful, meaningful, and free of grammatical or spelling errors. Doing so gives you one more chance to tell the hiring manager why youre the best candidate for the job, and it could show that youre willing to take on extra, or optional, tasks. In other words, it may demonstrate your strong worth ethic.So, as they say in an article on Freesumes, whenever you see optional cover letter, always send one. AlwaysIf you want statistics to back up that admonition, consider some data from Zety. According to an article on its site, 26% of recruiters read cover letters and considered them important. An additional study showed that 56% of employers wanted applicants to attach a cover letter to their resumes. Yet another study indicated that 49% of human resources managers considered a cover letter to be the second best thing that boosts a resume. (Customization of the resu me took the top spot.)If you do write an outstanding cover letter, it could be the key to getting an interview with the company, according to a post from Johnson Search Group. If youre one of the only candidates to actually write one, it may just propel you to the top of the lists of candidates.The top of those lists is where you want to be, even if it means an optional cover letter becomes required for you.Ready to start applying?Browse Open Flexible Jobs