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TL;DR: No. Yes.My personal take on resumes and cover letters:Your resume is a list of your skills and accomplishments. It doesn’t change much except as you gain experience. If you are applying for jobs as a software developer and a fashion model at the same time, you probably have two resumes, but generally one resume will do you for all software developer jobs.You write a different cover letter for each job. Your cover letter is like the first stage of a rocket, designed to boost your resume past the gatekeepers and into the hands of the hiring manager.My cover letters have three parts: The top says “I saw your ad for U in place V. It references the particular position I am applying for. The third part says, “I would love to talk to you. Here’s my cell phone number. In between, is a bullet list. Each bullet says, “You asked for X. I have Y” for each point X in the ad. Sometimes, it’s just a list of “I have Y” for each X in the ad. The purpose of the cover letter is to tell the gatekeeper, who probably cannot understand the technical language on my resume, that I am qualified, and my resume should be forwarded, so they don’t make a mistake.I don’t get every job I apply for, but since I started using this cover letter format, I get callbacks from most jobs.

I feel like I have to answer this as I've just spent 4 hours going through resumes and I want to scream.Not one resume made me happy. All of then were in the spectrum of mild annoyance all the way to actual anger.Here are the things that upset me.1. Generic cover letter/resumeEvery one of the cover letters was about why they have great blah blah skills or blah blah experience. Honestly I could post each resume up here and you would have no clue what industry they were applying for.2. Not one cover letter mentioned anything about our company or what we do. I honestly feel like not one of these applicants even went to our website.3. Not one cover letter mentioned the work they would be doing. We are hiring for a kid's app/toy company. Not one applicant mentioned anything about toys, kids, apps, fun... some even just wrote things like "I'm looking for full time work". Yes.. that's a great reason for me to hire you, because you need a job. Arghhhh4. So many had spelling errors. One spelled a word wrong right before the word "literacy". Oh the ironing (Bart fans will know what I'm saying).If English isn't your first language, I usually cut you some slack on things like grammar and maybe one spelling error (we're all human afterall). If you proudly write you are born and raised in North America and have spelling errors all over the place.. arghhhhh5. This is a creative position I'm hiring for and everyone has submitted an online portfolio. Only one person had even one item in a portfolio that has anything to do with what we do. You'd figure they'd take some time to sketch a few things or if they don't have it in their portfolio, put some examples of what inspires you that is relevant. I saw inspiration pages that featured medical devices and high end jewellery... arghhhh6. Interests. I had one person write in their resume that they are most interested in designing shoes and cars. So why the smurf are you applying to our company?... arghhhhI'm too upset to write all the other things.As mentioned by others, a lot of companies filter out resumes electronically and others are filtered out by HR staff who have no clue if a person is good for the job. In this case I took the time to read each one and view each portfolio to ensure I don't miss any good people and I feel like I was an idiot for it (though I'll still do it while I have the time).Bottom line1. Show you know who you are applying to and show at least a modicum of interest in what we do.2. Tell me why you would love to work here and why you want this job. What will you offer us? Why would this make you happy as well? It needs to be a fit on both sides for it to work long term.3. Proof read your resume, cover letter. Do some basic formatting.4. Put some personality in your cover letter. Don't list your skills on your cover letter, that's what the resume is for!5. For a creative position, don't make your cover letter a long boring read. Actually for any position don't make your letter a long boring read.

A first time job seeker usually has a lot of pressure of finding a job quick. And, the best way to make to an interview is a well written and well formatted cover letter. Not that your resume does not hold importance, but a cover letter is the first and foremost impression that you have on an employer. As a first time job seeker, there can be some mistakes that you could make when drafting a cover letter. The following article talks about the importance of a cover letter for a first time job seeker and 7 things that are a must in a cover letter for a fresher.Entry level candidates are usually known to make some mistakes or rather miss on some important aspects of a cover letter. These misses can cost them a lot in terms of a job application. Here are 7 things that an entry level candidate must do in a cover letter:Read full article:Job cover letter for Fresher