The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week
Over the years, talent professionals have likely heard many arguments against the cover letter, including that it’s unnecessary and even obsolete.
In a recent article, the Harvard Business Review takes the opposing view, emphasizing the importance of cover letters even when they’re not explicitly required: “As long as human beings are still making hiring decisions,” HBR writes, “a cover letter is the most human impression you can make before an interview, so pass on it at your peril.”
HBR also makes the argument that recruiters and hiring managers often prefer applications that come with cover letters, citing one survey that found:
- Over 80% of hiring managers say they frequently or always read cover letters.
- Nearly 75% of hiring managers frequently read cover letters, even when their companies don’t require them as part of the application.
- Nearly half of respondents said they read a cover letter before they read a candidate’s resume.
- Just under half of respondents said a well-written, persuasive cover letter could convince them to interview an “otherwise weak candidate.”
As long as candidates think of their resumes and cover letters as having two distinct purposes for their applications, a cover letter can have real value. “A resume,” HBR writes, “answers the question, ‘Why I’m qualified to do the job,” while a cover letter communicates, ‘Why I want the job.”
Still skeptical or curious to learn more? Be sure to check out HBR’s piece at the top of our list below of must-read articles for talent professionals. And further down the list, you can also find out how to compete for talent when you’re on a budget; why the pandemic’s shadow is still lingering over today’s labor market; and why inspiring hope could be the key to great leadership.
Here are the must-read articles from this week:
1. Cover Letters Still Matter — Even If They’re Not Required (Harvard Business Review)
2. 5 Ways to Compete for Talent When You’re on a Budget (Fast Company)
3. 5 Years Post Covid: Pandemic’s Shadow Remains Cast on the Labor Market (LinkedIn’s Economic Graph)
4. Rising Hourly Wages Are Reshaping Talent Acquisition Strategies for HR Leaders (ADP)
5. See the Early Impact of LinkedIn’s First AI Agent: Hiring Assistant (LinkedIn Talent Blog)
6. The Kitchen Is On Fire — And Most L&D Teams Are Still Sending Out Recipes (David Nordqvist on LinkedIn)
7. Why Hope May Be the Key to Great Leadership (Jen Fisher on LinkedIn)
8. The Rise of Remote Work: How Remote Work Is Shifting the Geography of Jobs (Center on Rural Innovation)
9. What Really Sets Brilliant CHROs Apart Is Their Ability to Be a Magnet for Talent (Strategic CHRO)
10. The Ford Executive Who Kept Score of Colleagues’ Verbal Flubs (The Wall Street Journal)
Here is the must-listen podcast:
Using AI in L&D Today to Be Ready for Tomorrow (Learning at Large)
