Key Takeaways
- Many employers still read cover letters, especially for roles where communication skills matter.
- AI-generated cover letters are increasingly common and often easy for recruiters to spot.
- A well-written cover letter can meaningfully differentiate you from candidates with similar resumes.
- For high-volume or automated hiring pipelines, a cover letter may rarely be read at all.
- The decision to write one should be driven by the role, company, and how optional the field actually is.
Explains career gaps or non-linear paths effectively
A letter gives you control of the narrative when your resume raises questions. You can address a pivot or gap directly rather than hoping a recruiter interprets it generously.
Demonstrates writing and communication skills
For roles where writing is core to the job, the cover letter is a live example of your ability. No resume bullet can substitute for a well-constructed argument.
Signals genuine interest and specific fit
A tailored letter that references the company's actual work or challenge shows you did your homework — a meaningful differentiator in a pool of generic applications.
Can tip the decision at smaller employers
Hiring at small and mid-sized organizations is often less systematized. Decision-makers are more likely to read letters and be influenced by the personal voice they convey.
Often unread in high-volume ATS-driven hiring
At large companies with automated screening, cover letters may not be reviewed until late in the process — if at all. Time spent on a letter may not translate to any competitive advantage.
AI saturation has diluted the signal
Recruiters now receive large volumes of AI-generated letters that sound polished but generic. A letter that could have stood out two years ago may now blend into undifferentiated noise.
Significant time cost across many applications
Writing a genuinely tailored letter takes 30 to 60 minutes. Across a high-volume job search, that investment can crowd out networking and skills development.
Rarely rescues a mismatched resume
A cover letter cannot overcome a fundamental mismatch between your qualifications and the role requirements. Recruiters generally screen on resume fit first.
Our Verdict
Cover letters are not dead, but they are no longer universal. In many large-company hiring funnels, they go unread. In smaller organizations, creative fields, or roles where written communication is central, a strong cover letter can genuinely move your application forward. The risk of skipping one is low in some contexts and meaningful in others.
Job seekers applying to roles where communication, culture fit, or a non-linear career path needs explaining — particularly at smaller employers or mission-driven organizations.
The State of Cover Letters Right Now
Cover letters have been declared dead roughly once a year for the past decade. Yet hiring managers keep asking for them, and job applications keep including the field. The reality is more nuanced than either the dismissers or the defenders admit.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) — the software that screens applications before a human sees them — typically parse resumes, not cover letters. That means your letter may never influence whether you clear the first automated gate. To understand how that screening works, see why most applications get filtered before anyone reads them.
At the same time, a 2023 survey by ResumeGo found that applications including a tailored cover letter received a meaningfully higher callback rate than those without one — particularly at small and mid-sized companies. The picture varies significantly by industry, company size, and how much the hiring manager values writing as a signal of competence.
When "Optional" Doesn't Mean Skip It
Many application forms label the cover letter field as optional. In practice, this varies by employer. At companies where writing is central to the role, leaving it blank can read as low effort even if the form technically allows it. When in doubt, treat optional as "include if you can make it good" rather than "don't bother."
The Case For Writing One
Explains career gaps or non-linear paths effectively
A letter gives you control of the narrative when your resume raises questions. You can address a pivot or gap directly rather than hoping a recruiter interprets it generously.
Demonstrates writing and communication skills
For roles where writing is core to the job, the cover letter is a live example of your ability. No resume bullet can substitute for a well-constructed argument.
Signals genuine interest and specific fit
A tailored letter that references the company's actual work or challenge shows you did your homework — a meaningful differentiator in a pool of generic applications.
Can tip the decision at smaller employers
Hiring at small and mid-sized organizations is often less systematized. Decision-makers are more likely to read letters and be influenced by the personal voice they convey.
Cover letters do real work in specific situations. If your resume has a career gap, a pivot, or a non-traditional background, a letter gives you space to reframe those facts on your own terms rather than leaving a recruiter to guess. It also lets you connect your experience to the company's specific situation — something a resume, by design, cannot do.
For roles in communications, marketing, education, law, or leadership, the letter itself is a writing sample. Submitting a sharp, clearly argued letter signals the very skill the job requires. That is harder to fake than keyword-stuffed bullet points.
As part of a broader application strategy, cover letters pair well with direct outreach. Applying online versus reaching out directly each carry trade-offs, but a personalized letter strengthens either approach.
The Case Against (or at Least, the Honest Caveats)
Often unread in high-volume ATS-driven hiring
At large companies with automated screening, cover letters may not be reviewed until late in the process — if at all. Time spent on a letter may not translate to any competitive advantage.
AI saturation has diluted the signal
Recruiters now receive large volumes of AI-generated letters that sound polished but generic. A letter that could have stood out two years ago may now blend into undifferentiated noise.
Significant time cost across many applications
Writing a genuinely tailored letter takes 30 to 60 minutes. Across a high-volume job search, that investment can crowd out networking and skills development.
Rarely rescues a mismatched resume
A cover letter cannot overcome a fundamental mismatch between your qualifications and the role requirements. Recruiters generally screen on resume fit first.
None of the above means every cover letter is worth writing. At large companies running high-volume ATS pipelines, data suggests the majority of letters are never opened. Spending 45 minutes on a letter that a recruiter will skip is a real opportunity cost when you are applying to many roles.
There is also the AI problem. Generative AI tools have made it trivially easy to produce a plausible-sounding cover letter in seconds. That has lowered the floor — recruiters now receive floods of letters that sound vaguely enthusiastic but say nothing specific. A generic AI-drafted letter may actually hurt you by suggesting low effort or poor judgment.
The modern job search has shifted in ways that make some traditional application tactics less reliable. Knowing where to invest time is the core skill.
What Makes a Cover Letter Worth Reading
If you decide a letter is warranted, a few principles separate the ones that get read from those that get closed immediately.
- Open with something specific. Name the role, reference a real detail about the company, and state why that combination matters to you. Avoid "I am writing to express my interest in..."
- Answer the unspoken question. Hiring managers read letters looking for: why this role, why this company, and why now. Address all three briefly.
- Keep it to one page — ideally shorter. Three to four focused paragraphs is enough. Longer letters signal poor editing, not thoroughness.
- Don't just repeat your resume. Use the letter to explain context your resume cannot: what drew you to a career change, what you learned from a particular experience, what problem you want to solve.
Before submitting, run through a pre-submission check. A pre-submission checklist can help you catch errors and confirm your letter and resume are saying the same thing coherently.
49%
Hiring managers who read cover letters
A ResumeGo study found roughly half of hiring managers said they read cover letters, with higher rates at smaller companies and for senior roles.
53%
Higher callback rate with tailored cover letters
ResumeGo's research found applications with tailored cover letters received a 53% higher callback rate than identical applications submitted without one.