From the Deans

Jason Fried, co-founder of software firm 37signals and co-author of Rework recently published a column in Inc. entitled “Never Read Another Resumé.”  Here’s part of what he says about 37signals’ hiring process:

[We] ignore resumés. In my experience, they’re full of exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments — and even outright lies. They’re made of action verbs that don’t really mean anything. Even when people aren’t intentionally trying to trick you, they often stretch the truth. And what does “five years’ experience” mean, anyway? Resumés reduce people to bullet points, and most people look pretty good as bullet points.

What we do look at are cover letters. Cover letters say it all. They immediately tell you if someone wants this job or just any job. And cover letters make something else very clear: They tell you who can and who can’t write. Spell checkers can spell, but they can’t write. Wordsmiths rise to the top quickly. Another rule of thumb: When in doubt, always hire the better writer.

Not everyone agrees:  I’ve heard some argue that in the age of tweets and wall posts, cover letters are passé.  I doubt it.  We infer a lot about individuals based on their writing:

• Intelligence.  Are they smart enough to construct a good letter?
• Motivation.  Is the message personal enough to show that they are really interested in us, and not just in a job with someone?
• Attention to detail.  Have they done their homework?  Do they know who we are, and what we care about?
• Clarity of thinking.  Is the message cogent?  Do they get to the point, quickly and compellingly?

The construction of a cover letter says a lot about the writer — whether the writer meant to say it or not – and while a great cover letter isn’t going to compensate for a poor resume, a poor cover letter is a real red flag.

Procter & Gamble was once infamous for its one-page memos.  A Brand Assistant would draft a recommended course of action for his or her boss, the Associate Brand Manager:  one page or less, one inch margins all around.  The ABM would refine and return, covered with red ink.  When it passed muster with both of them, it moved up to the Brand Manager for more red ink and more refinement… and so on, until the final decision-maker signed off on that one page.

It was a time-consuming, bureaucratic process that has been supplanted with quicker collaborative technologies… but it was also a great discipline.   Being forced to distill your argument into a page or less makes you think differently.  Better.  More focused on your audience.  And the ability to construct a great single page is a rare skill.  A differentiator.

So let’s hear it for the lowly cover letter.  And for paying as much attention to the cover letter – whether yours or that of a job prospect – as to that resume!