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Bluebell81 · Newbie Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2 Career Advice: +0/-0

I am registered on a number of online job sites and my question is whether to use a covering letter whilst applying for a job online? I expect covering letters are still used when applying online as some of the sites I am registered on do provide a section to attach a covering letter, does the format of this then change from a standard covering letter ie hard copy or should it just be set out in exactly the same way? Obviously online much of the details used in covering letters are unknown such as name of person you are writing to and address details etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Best Regards

dorothea · Expert Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 123 Career Advice: +1/-0

Yes, it is advisable to sent a cover letter to accompany your resume whilst applying on line. If there's no place to attach it, send them both via email, inside the same message.
The formatting applies the same as in the case of resumes. Just make it look good.
About the addressee, don't worry. You can write the datas of the company )place, phone) and start your cover letter with "To whom it may concern," or " Dear Hiring Manager,"

lexa10881 · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 2:14 am Post subject:

I would think that the format on a cover letter might get messed up like copying and pasting a resume might do. There's a tiny bit of info on this that might help you, towards the first part about the email cover letter.
I say it might be easier to skip the cover letter thing, but I am not sure. Anybody else got any ideas??

http://www.cvtips.com/cover_letter_tips.html

ResumeWriter

Hi Bluebell. I just answered this very question under a different thread. Submitting your resume online, whether to a recruiting site, job bank, or directly to a company website, a cover letter may not always be a necessary part of the submission process. Sometimes, you can get by without submitting one. If I had to vote, however, I would say, yes, utilize one because it's still an opportunity to sway hiring agents into your favor ... assuming the letter is read, of course.

Those on the other end of the submission process understand that not all incoming documents will look the best. Even with huge strides in technology, the management process for handling resumes is somewhat in infancy. What that means to you is that it's not a perfect process for you on the sending end, or those on the receiving end. They keep that in mind when looking at received resumes; documents don't necessary look the way they were designed.

Uploading a cover letter is a good option, if the company's system can uphold the integrity of your design and layout. Copying and pasting is a fine option, as well, but remember to exclude formatting (i.e. lines, bold, italics, and bullets) before copying and pasting. Most systems can't recognize those features and place jibberish in its place.

Anytime submitting your resume and cover letter online, I always suggest sending a hard copy too. I know this sounds "old school," but I like the thought of a person touching the resume and cover letter --- even if it's a secretary unfolding it before placing it within a recycling bin. <wink>

In cases where you don't have a contact name, or maybe even the company name, do your best to include what you know/have.

If you'd like to read my comments within the other thread:
http://www.cvtips.com/career_advice_forum/cover-notes-applications-cv-only-vt3571.html

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