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>Someone sensibly suggested that one way to screen resumes is to only read
>those with a cover letter, and moreover to use the resumes and the cover
>letter as criteria by which to judge the applicant.
I agree with the latter, and disagree strongly with the former.
As a writer, I refuse to write empty, useless documents. I many
cases, where I don't know much about the company, I have zilch
to say in a cover letter. (Many ads conceal the company's identity,
and give no contact person, so it's hard to do anything about this
knowledge gap.) Rather than write a puffy, meaningless,
empty waste of paper and time, I don't include a cover letter at all.
Generally, in cases where I have nothing substantive to put in a cover
letter, neither does anyone else. So, selecting on the basis of
cover letters gives you all the people who can puff on the basis
of no information. It that what you want?
-- Robert
--
Robert Plamondon * High-Tech Technical Writing
36475 Norton Creek Road * Blodgett * Oregon * 97326
robert -at- plamondon -dot- com * (503) 453-5841
"I regret that I have but one * for my country." -- Nathan Hale
