Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Run for Cover (Letters)
Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.
The job market is incredible. But that doesn't mean that getting a job is easier than it was in the past. It's a seller's market, but no matter how desperate employers are to find talented candidates, they're not about to compromise their high standards. They want the best candidates out there, and they're willing to pay for them.
The package--the way candidates wrap or present themselves--is evaluated as carefully as their work history. The two essential elements of the package are the resume and the cover letter. The spotlight is focused primarily on the resume, and secondarily on the cover letter.
A decade ago, most job candidates naively assumed that cover letters were hardly read, that they were just more job-getting protocol and a minor determining factor in the decision-making process. They were wrong. Cover letters factor into the job-acquiring equation and must be taken seriously. Consider this fact of life: A cover letter is the first thing the hiring manager sees.
The more detailed the job--that is, the bigger the salary and the more responsibilities it carries--the more important your resume and cover letter. Think of the cover letter as the first course in a great meal. If it's exceptional, you'll assume that the rest of the meal will be excellent as well. It may be very mediocre, but your taste buds are betting that it will be equally good as the …
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"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain |