When it comes to job applications, employers and hiring managers usually read your resume before your cover letter. This is because your resume provides them with an overview of your recent experience and skills. In fields that require specific skills, such as computer science and engineering, employers will first examine a resume to make sure you have the desired qualifications before taking the time to read your cover letter. Contrary to what many outdated job search books may suggest, your cover letter is not read first.
Instead, it is only read after your resume has been quickly scanned and screened. Therefore, it should not be used as an introduction to your resume, but rather as a supplement. If there are clear instructions, it's important to follow them to the letter in order to maximize your chances of getting the right attention. In general, you should choose to send your cover letter and resume as separate documents, unless the presentation guidelines require a single document.
Nowadays, many companies and employers only accept digital cover letters and resumes via email in order to use candidate tracking systems (ATS). The exception is when you send a personal cover letter to a specific person in your referral network. When it comes to the hiring equation, a hiring manager is more likely to read the cover letter than anyone else involved. However, in creative fields such as publishing, journalism and copywriting, employers may first read your cover letter to ensure that your writing skills are up to par.
Gone are the days when a job applicant would simply hand an employer a cover letter and a resume on paper. Nowadays, if you have no choice but to combine your cover letter and resume, you should include the cover letter as an attachment or copy and paste the text into the email message. When people attach both a letter and a resume to an email, only one attachment is opened - usually the resume. It's also worth noting that hiring managers from small businesses with a lower volume of hiring (such as a small non-profit organization) are more likely to read a cover letter than those from larger companies like Amazon or KPMG.
If you want to make sure that the document is readable, you can send two copies of each - one in Word format and one in PDF format.
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