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Resumes and Job Applications

sikkinixx

sikkinixx

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
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Rocketing through the sky!
I haven't had to apply for a job in a good decade so forgive me if this sounds silly but...

When submitting resume/cover letter/supporting documents in person is it proper to just staple it all together? Or should it be in a duotag/folder/envelope?

It's a school board application so I need to include reports, observations etc which are a good 20 pages, in addition to cover letter, resume. Feels like a big brick of paper :p
 
sikkinixx said:
I haven't had to apply for a job in a good decade so forgive me if this sounds silly but...

When submitting resume/cover letter/supporting documents in person is it proper to just staple it all together? Or should it be in a duotag/folder/envelope?

It's a school board application so I need to include reports, observations etc which are a good 20 pages, in addition to cover letter, resume. Feels like a big brick of paper :p
Click to expand...

Resumes are really tricky things. It depends on the industry you're working in. I know for the industry I'm going into that resumes should be kept short and sweet. A digital portfolio of some sort is a must.

Does the application specify whether to send in the reports, observations, etc. or do you feel you need to include them? Have you spoken with other people who've applied and gotten advice from them?
 
Pretty sure cover letters are pointless these days. I guess it could depend on the industry though.
 
I've found that cover letters have had zero impact on my response rate for job applications. In fact, all of the jobs I've had responses from have happened to be ones where I didn't submit a cover letter.

Now, it is possible that I haven't heard from some because I didn't submit a cover letter. But writing a properly tailored cover letter for every job is simply not feasible.

For a school board, it might be different, though.
 
Demosthenes X said:
Now, it is possible that I haven't heard from some because I didn't submit a cover letter. But writing a properly tailored cover letter for every job is simply not feasible.
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What? Why not?

The whole point of a cover letter is to send the message to the employer that (a) you're not just another generic resume on the stack, (b) you didn't just throw your name at dozens of companies without any thought. You want to tell them that you really want to work for them and you think that they should hire you (with reasons why of course). Generally this is also your opportunity to specify what specific position you're interested in (e.g. requisition #123-A, Intermediate Level Software Developer).

You don't have to totally customize it for each and every job, but it should at least be somewhat tailored. It's not that much work at all.
 
benthewraith said:
Resumes are really tricky things. It depends on the industry you're working in. I know for the industry I'm going into that resumes should be kept short and sweet. A digital portfolio of some sort is a must.

Does the application specify whether to send in the reports, observations, etc. or do you feel you need to include them? Have you spoken with other people who've applied and gotten advice from them?
Click to expand...

No they specifically ask for your final reports/observations since I am a new teacher. A lot of websites/people advise not giving a list of references right away either, but again this school board needs them right away for new teachers since they will call my practicum and university supervisors before they would consider interviewing me.


Jessica Lares said:
You need to do both. Don't staple them all together though, they should be in sections. Then stick them all in a manilla envelope, with your cover letter and resume at the top.
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And just label the envelope with name, contact info etc I'm guessing.

Thanks for the thoughts all. Frackin' stressful process since they are in between requiring online only submissions and in-person submissions so their expectations are all over the place. All the advice from teacher/principals has been in person is better so I'm going with that.
 
notjustjay said:
What? Why not?

The whole point of a cover letter is to send the message to the employer that (a) you're not just another generic resume on the stack, (b) you didn't just throw your name at dozens of companies without any thought. You want to tell them that you really want to work for them and you think that they should hire you (with reasons why of course). Generally this is also your opportunity to specify what specific position you're interested in (e.g. requisition #123-A, Intermediate Level Software Developer).

You don't have to totally customize it for each and every job, but it should at least be somewhat tailored. It's not that much work at all.
Click to expand...

I'm just going from my experience, and my experience has been that I'm getting better response rates not writing cover letters than I was by writing them. The time I could spend writing a properly tailored cover letter can instead be used to apply for another job... and the unfortunate reality of applying for jobs in this economic climate is that it's largely a numbers game.

Plenty of jobs with online application systems don't even ask for a cover letter. Which makes sense: 7/10 applications never even get seen my a human, they just get filtered out by whatever automated system the company is using.

The only times I write cover letters are when they're specifically requested, when the submission is via email (and then it's a sort of condensed email cover letter), or when I'm applying in person but don't have the opportunity to meet the hiring manager (if you can introduce yourself in person when applying, than a cover letter becomes redundant).

At the end of the day, hiring managers are getting hundreds (if not thousands) of applications for posted jobs, and are spending maybe 6 seconds to scan a resume. If you think they're reading entire cover letters, well...

All this said, as you move up the ranks I think cover letters become more important. The higher-level the position in a company, the more care and consideration is put into filling the spot, and the more likely it is that a cover letter will actually be read. My experience in entirely in looking for entry level/associate level positions, and I can confidently say cover letters haven't helped me there.
 
Yikes, envelopes and Avery labels are expensive... Didn't want to hand write on it so I printed off some nifty labels.

Thanks again all for the advice. Off to drop it off now!
 
jav6454 said:
Dumb advice is dumb. Many places require cover letter or highly recommend one. I have yet I come across a place where cover Letter is unneeded.
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You should re-read, not that you will but you should consider it before you post. I said that perhaps it depends on the industry or is reading the whole post too difficult for someone like you? In my industry and as a hiring manager, we don't require or care for cover letters because they're nothing more than BS fluff.
 
I wouldn't staple them together. Just be sure that your name is clearly on each page so that if they get separated from each other they can be found again.
 
jessica. said:
You should re-read, not that you will but you should consider it before you post. I said that perhaps it depends on the industry or is reading the whole post too difficult for someone like you? In my industry and as a hiring manager, we don't require or care for cover letters because they're nothing more than BS fluff.
Click to expand...

That still doesn't mean you don't need it. Having one is always good.
 
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