Do cover letters get read?

Word 2007 is independent of Vista. You could install Word 2007 on Windows XP and by default save documents as ".docx"

Whether using Word or Vista, save Office 2007 files in Office 2003 format so everyone can read it.

I like to have my cover letter as my email, as opposed to attaching it to an email. So far, it's worked pretty well.

Saving word documents as a rtf file is best. This way both PC and Mac users can open the file with out a problem.

YES your cover letter is very important. Don't spend a lot of time tailoring your email, the hiring manager may not see that if they are just getting a stack of resumes from HR. What Job Doc has described is good, just a quick email to say "here is my resume and cover letter for XX job." Tailor your cover letter to help the hiring manager quickly navigate the most important information about why you are the best candidate for the job (and I cannot say this enough: TAILOR your RESUME as well).

Although sending an attachment at .docx reveals the applicant as not being very tech savvy, I would not want to work for you or your company if you cannot open a .docx attachment (Office 2007, the latest Office Suite, was the first package to use this default ext; there is no such thing as "Word from Vista"). There is a FREE file converter available from MS that downloads and installs very easily, and works without a hitch. Few things are worse than working for a company with a lame IT staff.

Better than sending your resume using any version Word, use one of the free PDF-writers (such as the free one that comes with Office 2007, or CutePDF) and send your resume in PDF format. That way you don't have to worry about the version of Word, or about losing any specific formatting that you may have added, and the recipient doesn't have to worry nearly as much about viruses, etc. If you really want your cover letter to be read, I'd also send your cover letter, followed by your resume, in ONE file (preferably PDF format) - that way, the recipient either has to read your letter to get to your resume, or intentionally skip your letter.

Although sending an attachment at .docx reveals the applicant as not being very tech savvy, I would not want to work for you or your company if you cannot open a .docx attachment (Office 2007, the latest Office Suite, was the first package to use this default ext; there is no such thing as "Word from Vista"). There is a FREE file converter available from MS that downloads and installs very easily, and works without a hitch. Few things are worse than working for a company with a lame IT staff.

The cover letter matters very, very much, as does the email you prepare to accompany it. Please ensure that absolutely no typos or formatting glitches exist in your cover letter, email content or resume! We are inundated with applications at work, and will immediately not consider an applicant if we find a typo or poor grammar usage anywhere within his or her materials. Your submissions to potential employers must be impeccable and tailored to the job you seek.

Jacobus57: you write that you consider a company not using Word 2007 or the converter program indicates a 'lame IT staff'. The fact is, that some companies do not have a dedicated IT staff, or can't afford software upgrades, or even can't afford the time it would take to research and download bridge software and then distribute it to all users in the company. This lack of resources, monetary or otherwise, does not necessary indicate a lame IT staff, as you put it.

Accept the fact that not all companies will be using the most recent technology. If you want the job, you'll send the file in a format that is in a version that is most likely readable by that company. Otherwise, you can pass judgement on a group of people you know nothing about, and continue to search futiley for your perfect job in the utopian company.

"Make sure you review your resume after you send it electronically."

Or better yet, before you send it?

No amount of flowery prose in a cover letter can cover up a lousy resume. Places that demand them usually have some dope running HR.
Most people searching for jobs are having problems because they don't realize what jobs they are actually qualified for. Or they aren't smart enough, or have too much pride, to be creative and dumb down their resume to get an "emergency, just pay the bills" job. No one really checks for these jobs anyway, just charm them in the face to face. It's all about survival these days. If you don't get interviews, then you're not applying to the right jobs.
In the end, if you're in your 40's or older, with a lot of experience, you're toast anyway.

dopeslap and Jacobus57: I agree with dopeslap. I work for a very large Global, globally admired organization that is number 1 in many aspects of the business including being listed as the number one place people want to work at. We use Microsoft office 2003. And in fact there are many employees who have not had their application updated from 2000 yet.
It is largely due to time and money. The company has to buy the software license to put the software on thousands, yes thousands, of computers. Software companies like Microsoft office offer extensive deals on bulk software orders for "older versions". In a world of the money and time cautious this is very appealing. You will find that most large companies and many smaller companies are operating on an older version of word.
Also, MS 2007 is largely different from MS 2003 and would take many, many hours of training to teach associates how to use the new programs. Until warranted and necessary this is a waste of time as employees should be focusing on other more important aspects of their job.
And it is very simple to save a 2007 word document as an older version. As dopeslap said, if you want to work for a company you should be willing to take the extra...well really it doesn't take any extra...second to select the 2000/2003 file (or is it 97/2003) format instead of 2007. It's on the same list. It's just a matter of clicking the right one.

Lastly, I wanted to mention regarding a resume it is very important to tailor the resume and cover letter to the job. Using words from the job description itself will catch the eye of the employer. Relating your current experience to the position you are applying for is very important. And a cover letter should be used to highlight the most important skills or attributes.

As someone who has done screenings for posted positions that would report to me, I can say that the cover letter matters. It gives me a sense of your writing ability and personality, your interest in a position, and related experience. I have tended to immediately dismiss applicants who do not include a cover letter with their application. Not including one conveys an aura of laziness and the sense that you are not really interested in the position or organization.

It's called a PDF people. This way no one can edit your resume or cover letter once you have sent it out. A PDF file or JPEG can be opened with a Mac or PC.

Whom ever wrote this article needed to have someone proof it before it was posted.

The ones that jump to the top of the pile at my work are emails with a shortened version of their cover letter as the email, with a full cover letter and Word Doc or .pdf resume.

Things that get you dumped: Not spelling my name or the company name correctly in your correspondence (this happens a lot!), emailing it to someone other than who the listing requested, sending a form letter cover letter - tell me why you want to work here specifically, and grammar and spelling issues.

I am sure that all the dopes in HR will remember "justgetajob" (#11) if we run into him or her.

Elaine,

Reading your response, I have to say: your company can download a free 'plug-in,' in order to read the docx files generated with the newer version of Word (and, correct, as someone pointed out, the office suite of applications is separate from Visat, an operating system). These files have now been around for quite a while and the company needs to catch up and have the plug in some that you are not having to instruct people not to ever send you something in this newer version of the file format.

my resume is hand written(scanned doc.) and always gets noticed

This is what we do in the UK

I'm a recruiter. I hardly ever read attached cover letters but if it is in the body of the email I'm "forced to read it.

I second the comment about sending PDF files. That way, all of your hard work to make your resume look appealing doesn't go to waste.

And a good cover letter, tailored to the position and entity, is key. I once got an interview, and in turn a job, because I wrote a cover letter that the person doing the hiring really liked. Talk about how your experiences show the characteristics they are looking for in a candidate (organization, attention to detail, writing ability, etc.). In my case, the job was at a legal aid organization, and I wrote about a volunteer trip I was then on in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Make your resume easy to scan. Don't clog it with fluff. Don't use a fancy word or many words where one simple word will do. Someone looking at your resume should be able to judge your qualifications and strengths within 10 seconds.

Also, proof and proof again. With so many people looking, even a small typo is enough reason to throw your application out. Be particularly careful with the name of the person to whom your letter is addressed and the company; some people are very finicky about people getting their names wrong!

Other ideas? Make sure you review your resume after you send it electronically...How about PROOFREAD! I'm put off by typos etc. in resumes, small type face, and overly wordy descriptions. But, what's wrong with sending hard copies, on real paper???

If we all standardized on ODF (Open Document Format) such that we weren't beholden to Microsoft's MONOPOLY we would not have compatibility problems.

OpenOffice.org

Free, does 95% of Microsoft's bloated, expensive office suite

Justgetajob (11): seriously? the dopes in HR? somehow, I have a feeling that your resume ends up in the circular file pretty often.

If you're not qualified for a job don't think that a great cover letter will save the day. There are many great unemployed people out there right now and the company will find someone else who is appropriately qualified. I am in HR and tons of people are applying for roles for which they are either over- or under- qualified. Maybe their cover letters explain why they are doing this but honestly we don't always have time to read them once we see they are not qualified.

If someone doesn't know how to "save as" or change the default save format, there is a good chance they will not know how to use a .pdf converter (although I agree it is the best way to send documents). As for a .jpg--that is begging trouble, and a scanned hand-written document, although it *may* be acceptable in the UK, would in the US find your application--rightly--promptly circular-filed.

So tell me, if all this is true, why are there so many semi-literate ignorami employed in the whole spectrum of positions? I used to work for Harvard's FAS, and the Employee Manual was one of the worst pieces of trash I ever saw. It was (and likely is, as I doubt it has been edited) shot full of spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors. A Harvard employment counselor actually told me I should "dumb down" my resume and cover letters. I think not...

I completely agree with #3. Every word processor can open .rtf but not necessarily any proprietary file belonging to another program.
PDFs would be nice if everyone had the program to create them but we don't. I found a freebie program online, but would everyone know to find it and use it? Probably not.
A scanned resume could produce a PDF but it's not nearly as clean, and you have to remember to scan it as a text file so it can be searched. Otherwise it's useless.
I'll stick to rich text files for now.

I'm in IT and for our mid-sized (200+/-) company, it would cost us about $200K to upgrade our licenses to Office 2007. That's not counting the costs to retrain everyone - and yes that would be required because Microsoft saw fit to move every single command in Office 2007. The investment for our organization is enormous and it does nothing to improve our bottom line. Rather than increase our productivity - it would slow people down. For what? To further enrich Bill Gates? Not happening.

As a job applicant and former HR professional, I can attest that today the email is the cover letter. Most wont read a second letter telling me about yourself. Email/Resume. That's all.

Ugh! Author misses the point as to WHY you want a cover letter. Your resume needs to be a relatively direct and passionless list of accomplishments and job history. While it should be action and results focused, readers expect a straight-forward account. The cover letter gives you the chance to show a bit more about who you are, what your work ethic is, and your passion for success. I spent far more time on my cover letters than most -- and with success. Oh, and to the goof who thinks over 40's are washed up? Bwahahahah!

I am a corporate recruiter for a large financial services firm and I will tell you that I never read cover letters. There are too many resumes to go through to care about WHY someone wants the job they are applying for. I go straight to the resume and look for the key criteria for the position I am trying to fill. If the candidate has what I am looking for I pass it off to the manager. If not, I decline them.

Make your cover letter count! That is your chance to convey the information that doesn't go into your resume - that you're willing to relocate, from the area originally, have family from there... or explain a short tenure or a lapse in employment... or explain why you are changing from one field to another. So many times I see these situations that aren't mentioned in the cover letter and leave recruiters guessing - and they may not want to call you just to find out the answer. Or worse, they may think you are purposely avoiding mentioning why, for example, you only worked at your last 2 jobs for a year. Also, please please attach your cover letter as a separate document! I am constantly separating out cover letters from resumes put all in one doc and cutting and pasting from an email into a word doc on my own. I also agree that you should definitely include some sort of short message in your email - just say what is attached, and when you are available, best way to reach you, etc.

I would like to thank the poster who said Word 2007 comes with PDF converter. Have had it for a year and didn't even think to look!

I ran into someone who could not open the Word document when I first got Office 2007. Just keep everything in 2003 format. Make life easier for the person reading your email. Cover letter should probably not be an attachment - copy it into the body of the email - one less thing for people to have to open. I have even seen ads that say copy resume into body of email.

I never understood why anyone would want to be a recruiter. Wouldn't they want to be doing the actual job for which they are recruiting?

In my experience, an HR person/recruiter won't read the cover letter or will give it cursory attention at most. However, if you're in an organization where your application is forwarded to the actual hiring manager for review, you have a better shot. I often look at the cover letter first because it usually tells me a more complete story than the resume. The exception to this would be if I'm reviewing a large number of resumes, at which point I look for the basic qualifications first, then read the cover letters of those who meet them.

Ah! #11 hits the nail on the head with his/her last sentence. Age discrimination is alive and well in the job market world; I don't care what anyone says. I am over 40's and experienced. Need I need to say that I've looking for a job in my field since I got laid off in 2007?

I liked reading the comments here -- and they show an important point...know the company / position your interviewing for.

I recently had to take a contract job due to my freelancing drying up. I was told "business casual is more then enough" (indeed, one guy interviewed me in a t-shirt and shorts). Yeah, I still wore a shirt and tie...even picked out a bit older dress shirt that screamed "computer nerd." The pin striped suits stayed in the closet because I knew they'd be overkill both for the position and the company.

Interesting stuff. I'll definitely be paying more attention to the subtler details in the future. There seems to be a consensus that a strong cover letter matters, but I don't get a consensus as to where to put it. I write mine as the e-mail but it does seem a bit wordy there. I heartily second the 'proof, proof, proof again" advice- it's appalling how many errors I keep finding in things I've already checked. This goes double if you're revising an older version as it may not have the corrections you did on a later version.. Just before I send, I e-mail it to myself and open it to be sure there are no transmission oddities.
By the way does anyone have advice on how to best present one's experience when returning to a former career path after several years in another field? In the usual chronological order the relevant stuff winds up on the second page.

I do a lot of hiring. If the cover letter isn't good, I don't care about the resume. The cover letter is where you can tell me how you will solve my problems. The resume tells me that you, in fact, can do what you say. While resumes can all look alike, the cover letter is where the successful candidate makes the case. It's a great -- a terribly underused - tool.

Yes, definitely save your resume as a .pdf (my Microsoft Word for Mac makes this easy)--that was the formatting stays as you want it and no one can manipulate it. Everyone has adobe acrobat, no? And if not it's a free download. The best cover letters in my opinion do not summarize a resume but maybe offer one or two vivid, one-sentence examples of what you do (or have done, if you are not currently working) effectively on a regular basis in your job. Good luck folks!

I hire and I read cover letters. Some advice....sign up for an email address that is somewhat professional. When I get a resume from an address like "blingbabe@whatever.com", I delete it. If I can't open your resume without going through major gymnastics, I delete it. Lastly, re-record your voice mail greeting - if it's flip or unprofessional, I won't leave a message, which is sad because I am calling to schedule you for an interview

My experience over the past 25 years as a freelance journalist:
HR people tend to read your mails, but not necessarily carefully. They will respond to you personally, but usually with some sort of formal phrase modified to make it sound as if they really wrote the letter to you, personally. As for the CV, I don't know what they do with it. No idea.

My experience querying editors (in the USA): They used to answer. Today, you get spammed, and as a result, the media have become like ivory towers. Back in January, for example, I queried 54 times with two exclusive interviews with very high-power people. I received no answer. Including from the Globe. None, not even a "thanks, but no thanks" . In Europe, it's different. Though changing, sadly. Everything is succembing to the hypermass of electronics.

I am also the editor of a magazine. I answer each mail that comes in, even though it occasionally takes time and effort. I will make some recommendations, if need be, put the person's CV on file, etc... But that is because I do not believe that people are somply expendable or interchangeable. That is the Kroc school of business and it is very bad for our society.

I was just on a resume reading committee and, since there were 80 + resumes, they didn't even print the cover letters unless we specifically wanted to see one - too many attachments to open. I think that if I were applying today, I might include the cover letter and resume as one attachment - then they both would have been printed together.

I've had multiple companies that do no allow PDFs to be uploaded for resumes. Only "standard format" of *.doc. So keep in mind what company you are applying for and what they want. If they don't want a PDF, don't give it to them. I like the idea of the PDF but don't want to annoy the company that I can't follow that simple direction from step one.

I own a small business. We're too small to have an HR department, and I do hiring (if any) myself. I'm actually more interested in the cover letter than the resume. In order to get an interview with me, the resume has to be on point, but I also want to see a cover letter that demonstrates the person is bright, articulate, has initiative, has attention to detail (typos go in the trash), etc. I would hire someone with an excellent cover letter and slightly less impressive resume over someone with a seemingly great resume but who comes across as cold and impersonal by failing to write a cover letter, or who can't be bothered to ensure their spelling and grammar are correct. Maybe the moral of the story is to know the company you're applying to. Small businesses may demand more of a personal touch.

By the way, send your resume and cover letter as PDF. I think it's unprofessional (though too common) to send Word documents around. If you send Word documents professionally, you have no idea how the viewer's computer is going to rejigger the layout. Also, anyone can edit a Word document, so unless you're sending around a draft for other people to mark up, it's a very bad idea to send professional documents in Word. If I had 40 applicants for a job and 4 of them sent a PDF, I would consider that a mark of good sense for the 4. The author should not have advised anyone to send anything in a .doc format.

Cover letters are extremely important.

I’ve been an individual hiring manager and now screen all applications for my company. While companies are always looking for a perfect match of experience to position, I’ve tossed seemingly “perfect fit” resumes which were accompanied by poorly written cover letters, or which were missing a cover letter if the candidate was instructed to send one. And I’ve interviewed candidates whose resume experience was in a different field, or seemingly not a perfect fit, because they wrote a dynamite cover letter explaining how their experience applied to the open position. I don’t really care why a candidate wants the job; use the cover letter to highlight how your experience qualifies you for the position and what you can do for the company. On the other hand, no cover letter is going to help if you’re applying for positions that your not qualified for. (Seriously, for our last Sr. Elec. Engineer opening we got dozens of resumes from cabinet makers, undergraduate students and sales people. Why?)

One side note, if you’re applying for a position that’s hundreds or thousands of miles away from the address on your resume, by all means explain that in your cover letter. Otherwise, your resume’s going to get tossed.

As far as what format to use, I’ve heard someone describe the experience of "upgrading" from Office 2003 to Office 2007 as like buying a new car and finding that the steering wheel is in the glove compartment, the brakes are in the trunk and the wipers may not have been included. So, no, my company is not going to convert anytime soon. We don’t have time to waste resources learning new software for no good reason. PDF is the way to go; your documents get seen the way you intended with no funky formatting. RTF is a good backup if PDF isn’t available.

I've been on hiring committees and have found cover letters that are relatively brief and to the point to be invaluable. Those who have said that a cover letter can't make up for a lack of skills are right but people send such general resumes that are not targeted to the jobs that sometimes the cover letter can give some additional information about why you are suited for a position. Having said that, the best thing you can do is have a targeted resume that doesn't leave prospective employers guessing -- many resumes end up discarded because it was just too much work to figure out where the applicants fit in.

Yes, the cover letter is important (at least, it was to me when I was hiring). But appearances are everything (and I'm not talking about dress and hygiene). I had a candidate not show for a 9am interview. At 10, HR informed me that the candidate had called - he couldn't find the office so he went to work - and did I want to reschedule?. As I recall, the candidate also blamed the HR manager for not sending him directions ahead of time. 2 strikes - couldn't plan ahead well enough to make sure he had directions the day before, even if that meant calling and asking, and couldn't pull over at a pay phone (in the pre-cell phone days) to call while en route and say "I'm lost, how do I get to you?" In any case, I didn't need someone who needed baby sitting - I had enough of my own work to do. So no, I didn't want to reschedule. About a year later, I had another opening to fill - and the same resume came across my desk. It went straight into the "no thanks" pile.

Another candidate showed up for an interview with his wife. Because they only had one car, she drove, and proceeded to wait in our reception area for him. The office was in an office park that was not served by mass transit, which left me wondering how this guy would get to work if I hired him. If the wife had just waited in the car, in the parking lot, instead of coming in, I would never have known, and probably would have hired him. But because his wife came in, I continued looking for a candidate I knew had reliable transportation.

I work for one of the largest private employers in MA and all job applications must be filed as PDFs through the HR portal, so there are no format issues. An HR rep then checks the application to ensure it's complete and, if so, forwards the resume and cover letter to the relevant supervisor. As a project manager, I may get 15+ applications a day when I have a position open. To streamline my work, I first glance over the resume. Here is where the first impression is made: Is it a generic resume or one tweaked to fit my job posting? Is it clear and easily understood? If I can't comprehend the resume contents in 30 seconds, I dump that file and never look at the cover letter--if you can't present your credentials in a straightforward manner, you're probably not good at organizing other things. But if the resume looks interesting, I then read the cover letter. After 20 years of doing this, I've found three basic types of letters: (1) the generic, no reference to my job offer, obviously sent by the applicant to every job offer--(yawn)...next; (2) the 'one-liner,' i.e., one sentence pasted into a generic letter to 'customize' it--oh, my, how original...next; and then (3) the custom letter written specifically for my job posting, and written using correct spelling and grammar. The people who submit the clear, relevant resumes with custom cover letters that are well-written are the ones I call to start the interview process, and the best of them ultimately gets the job.

Reading all these comments has made me sick to my stomach. To see so much disagreement among HR professionals and recruiters is disgusting. While I don't expect standards for this sort of thing to be established anytime soon, it would be helpful if the people in charge of writing job ads/posts specified what they expect of applicants. If they are not going to be exacting in their expectations, they should then be more understanding and accomodating when it comes to thinning the herd of applicants. It is troubling to think that a .pdf or .docx submission would disqualify a candidate. There are very quick, easy, and FREE ways to accomodate such submissions. Every computer should have Adobe Reader, and anyone with MS-Word should have downloade the FREE and easy to use compatability plug-in. BTW--if anyone is in a position to hire me and appreciates this sort of rational thought, say hello.

Is there age discrimination out there in hiring land? It depends on what field you are looking in and how skilled you are. In 20 years in IT, I never encountered it. I interviewed for my last pre-retirement job at the age of 62 1/2. That job was not my only choice; I had half a dozen or so other opportunities developing when I accepted the offer. Besides being "over the hill," I'm female, not exactly an advantage in IT.
But I carefully tailored each of my job applications to the position I was applying for and had all the skills required for each position I applied for. I'm also well educated--enough to be certain that my resumes and cover letters were not only free of errors but also skillfully written.
Would I do well in the current depressed employment market? From what I see of reactions to the applications of a 63-year-old associate for IT jobs, I think the answer is yes. It might take longer to find a position, but it appears that making the effort to apply thoughtfully for positions for which one is fully qualified still yields results, regardless of one's age. This assumes, of course, that the field one is in is stable or growing. In dying industries, I would think, all bets are off.

I do the hiring for my company and have done so for years . I absolutely review every cover letter because, as someone else said, it shows me if someone can spell, use good grammar, is actually interested in THIS job versus SOME job. For someone without the qualifications we asked for, the cover is the ONLY place to tell me why you are a great candidate anyway (for example, have other experience we didn't ask for, that I might agree substitutes for what we asked for). Don't leave off the cover letter.

"However, if you're in an organization where your application is forwarded to the actual hiring manager for review, you have a better shot."
As a Manager I demanded that all applications, hoever numerous, be sent to me. I also used my people to obtain leads and bypassed HR whenever possible. The most incompetent group in my company was HR. In dealing with other firms that have HR the latter's incompetence was always confirmed.

I am an IT recruiter. Word 2007 is a completely overblown program, and I hate editing in it. I can read it because I have the plug in, but I would not want to edit anyone's resume in it (and 100% of resumes I recieve need editing)...and just because I can read it doesn't mean the employer I send your resume to can read it. I work with a lot of tech and financial firms whose employees cannot download plugins to their desktops for security reasons. Why debate this? If your goal is to get a job, send your resume in the format that just about EVERY person at EVERY company can read.

As a recruiter, I do not need a cover letter, because I am going to speak with you directly, ask you what skills are relevant to the job, and write one for you to be submitted to the hiring manager. What I DO need is a resume in Word format, not PDF, because in addition to editing for grammar and spelling, all resumes I send out will be formatted the same way...it's branding for my company. Whether you agree or disagree with that is irrelevant...I doubt there is a recruiter who sends your resume out to an employer without their company logo on it. Things that drive me crazy are tables or headers and footers (most of which are poorly done to start).
If you are applying directly a company, go ahead and use your PDF version, but If you are posting your resume on Monster or Careerbuilder for recruiters and HR to hit upon in a skill set search, PLEASE include your uploaded resume in Word (don't just cut and paste it in), DO NOT use headers with your name and contact info on the document, and include ALL of your contact info on the document...not just on the Monster registration page. Most recruiters use a software package that automatically imports your resume and creates a database profile for you. If your contact info is not on there, or is in a header, then it is extra work for me to go back and find it. Now, if you are an exceptional candidate, I will do this and call you. But I may not realize I have missed key info (since I may have uploaded 30 resumes in 30 minutes) and if you are borderline and I missed your number, you become a project for later to complete the data fields of your profile, and not an immediate call. I can't tell you how many profiles clutter our system with names like, "Professional Experience" or "Summary of Qualifications" because actual contact info was in a header and the software skipped it. AND MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR ZIP CODE!! If you don't want to publicize your street address, fine...but when I am running lists of candidates to call I often search within 30 miles of a certain zip code, and then widen it from there if I don't find anyone qualified.
You want to make the recruiter or HR person's job as easy as possible when they want to get in touch with you. The more complicated you make yourself, the more work you become to us and the less chance tou have of getting a call.

All i get out of this is everyone has a different preference on what they want to see. Some want cover letters some don't. Its a crap shoot. The real problem is there are to many people looking for jobs. Its a buyers market. Most want ads say how they want the applicant to format or what they want included. The best is your salary requirements. How ridiculous is that request. I want a million but I will take way below that to get the job. Everyone wants the perfect employee nobody wants to pay for it. Things will change and the buyers market will become the sellers market.

What would be really interesting is to read how HR people and resume scanners are sorting out the older prospects. We know that no one is hiring folks in their late 40s and 50s. Does the HR person or scanner look first to see when the candidate started his or her career? Or do you look for certain job titles or levels? Are dates used to extrapolate a candidate's age? All of us older folks know well-qualified peers who can't even get an interview w/ an HR person, and we know it's because their resumes are tossed in the heap on the basis of their time in the workforce. What age-based criteria are you recruiters using? Do you even consider someone over 45? Be honest...... Confess your dirty little secrets.

PDFs may be opened in any Web browser, can be formatted for content and visual appearance exactly as designed, and are not easily corrupted after sending. I would argue that PDF is the most universal and easily-opened file format for resumes and CVs. Unless my recollection is wrong, the PDF "Save as..." converter for for MS Office 2007 has to be downloaded separately from Microsoft. It's free, but I don't believe that it comes pre-packaged with Office 2007.

Enrich530 -- As part of the office update, a corporation should install the compatibility pack Microsoft provides for free on their machines so that opening new docs is not a problem. Thousands of computers can be updated really easily if they are using an imaging program like Ghost.

Its interesting that neither this article nor the 50+ responses addresses the actual question, which is: do people really read the cover letters.
Enough of the 'typos' warning. Everyone knows you must rid your letter of typos and no one ever intentionally leaves typos in a cover letter. We KNOW you will throw them out immediately...
...But there are still plenty of other letters, typo-free, that also don't make the cut. So why is that? Are you looking for certain things specific to your ad? Are you looking for creative writing? Are you looking at the requested salary requirements?

Ok, so the bottom line is abundantly clear...

There is no standard. Why would anyone expect a standard? Have your resume available in DOC (word pre-2007), DOCX (word 2007), PDF (Adobe) and RTF (rich-text format - sort of an open format), and send them all. People often say "that's not the standard resume format" but there is no standard. There never was.

Make the body of the email a terse, concise and cogent summary of your willingness to relocate (or unwillingness), and a description of how you are a good fit. Spell stuff right and bear no grammatical blemishes.

What is truly amusing is that the correct spelling for the word résumé comes out all garbled in this (and MANY online text-boxes).

The question was: "Do Cover Letters get read?"

My answer is: You should always plan on the answer being yes and your cover letter should always reflect your best effort.

Cover letters should be to the point, explain the reason you are applying for the position, why you think you would be a good candidate and ask the hiring manager to review the document that really matters - your resume.

Start by introducing yourself, then begin to build the reader's interest in reading your resume. You achieve this by conveying to them what you can do for them if they were to hire you in the least amount of words as possible. No one wants to or has time to get through a very lengthy cover letter. If you would like more tips, please visit www.RLConsultingsvcs.com.

Cover letters do NOT get read.
They're always full of bull (as are most resumes, for that matter, but you have to start somewhere.).

You shouldn't ever send a "word" document, unless you are allowing the recipient to edit it. There are sometimes formatting issues, too, especially if you want to use a different font style.

Just send PDF files. If the HR director can't open a PDF file, you probably don't want to work there anyway. There should never be any issues with a PDF file for resume or cover letter, and to me it seems that they are more of a "final draft" version, almost equivalent to a hard copy.

Personally, I think mailing the resume on nice paper is probably the best way to go, and I'd love to hear the HR directors here to tell me what they think about this option.

When I send out professional documents to clients and then onto whatever agency our client submits to, it's always going to be in a PDF format unless there is specific instructions to send it otherwise. I figure if this is pretty much my standard for sending professional documents, then it's probably the best way to send resumes and cover letters, which i also consider to be professional documents.

Ok, I am a recruiter, and in response to the comments I have to say that YES, most of the people we hire are over 45! I know for fact that we have had interviews with people in their 60s - so don't give up hope! Also, to the recruiter who said he edits everyone's resume and writes the cover letter for them - that is ridiculous! We never edit someone's resume unless by chance they have made a minor typo, then we will sometimes fix it - but otherwise, we want our clients to see what this person is really like, and the way that a person writes and communicates their experience is the reason that resumes are useful in the first place!

Well, as I re-enter the job market after looking after my father, I hope a potential employer will look at my continuing education habits, my projects in the jobs I have held, and my ability to contribute no matter where I have worked.
Sometimes, access to a contact name at a company is a challenge. I have often sent my resume and cover letter to the company President when the internet and other resources fail to positively identify the current Human Resources Director, and calls to the company fail to supply that information. Often, Presidents are too busy to forward my information, but I am just as certain that this tactic is sometimes viewed as pretentious. If a contact is female then yet another challenge is the salutation: "Mrs./Ms.".
Suggestions here on solving that one will be read and appreciated.

Why is it that HR will ask questions regarding skills and experience covered both in my resume and highlighted in my cover letter?

Always use Ms. unless you know for sure that the woman you are addressing refers to herself as Mrs.