Hiring Managers - What do you read first the cover letter or resume?

[Anonymous]

Just curious to know what hiring managers read first. If you read the resume first and don't like it would you also read the cover letter?

[Anonymous]

I read the resume first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the resume first.

Sorry, I missed the second part.

We use an online application system. I pull up the resume first. If it doesn't contain the specific things I'm looking for, I don't read anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I pull up the resume first. If it doesn't contain the specific things I'm looking for, I don't read anything else.

+1

[Anonymous]

Resume. It had better be perfect, too. No formatting, grammatical, usage or spelling errors. Forget it if your resume is beyond one page and you're applying for an entry-level job.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the responses so far. I'm trying to change fields and was wondering if I should include an objective sentence in my resume or explain it in the cover letter.

Have you read "objectives" that may make you give a chance to the applicant even though the experience may not be what you were exactly looking for?

[Anonymous]

I rarely read cover letters. My decisions are based off of the resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for the responses so far. I'm trying to change fields and was wondering if I should include an objective sentence in my resume or explain it in the cover letter.

Have you read "objectives" that may make you give a chance to the applicant even though the experience may not be what you were exactly looking for?

I'm the PP with the online application. I don't pay a lot of attention to the "objective" line, simply because I assume that if you applied for a job your objective is to get the job you applied for. The only way an objective catches my eye is in the negative, if someone has one and then hasn't taken the time to edit it to match the position. E.g. if you apply for my job and then describe something different in the "objective".

I am happy to take a risk on someone with an interesting resume that demonstrates the skills and qualities I seek, but hasn't taken a traditional career path to get to this point, but it's not usually the objective that makes me decide to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Resume. It had better be perfect, too. No formatting, grammatical, usage or spelling errors. Forget it if your resume is beyond one page and you're applying for an entry-level job.

Hear, hear! I hire for jobs that involve a lot of writing (not legal) and you won't believe the sloppy resumes that come in.
Also got a 7-pager today where things were repeated multiple times and even a 10-month gig took up an entire page. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I pull up the resume first. If it doesn't contain the specific things I'm looking for, I don't read anything else.

+1

+2

I actually 99% of time only look at the resume.

[Anonymous]

Why do so many companies ask for it then? Just to see if someone can follow instructions? Lame to waste people's time...

[Anonymous]

I used to only read the resume first. Now I read the cover letter first. I am looking for a well-written level that clearly articulates why the person wants the job and how it fits into their career plans, not a re-hashing of their resume.

[Anonymous]

I read the cover letter first. Says a lot about the applicant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the cover letter first. Says a lot about the applicant.

I agree with this. But I'm looking for critical thinkers and people that are able to adapt to fluid situations. A resume tells you what someone has done, but the reality is there are lots of people doing jobs that they're not very good at and they maybe didn't deserve in the first place. A cover letter is a much better window into a person's actual aptitude and intelligence. You can embellish a resume, but you can't fake good writing.

[Anonymous]

I rarely hire....and haven't done so in a long time. I usually never saw the cover letter. I would read the Resume', but found that they are easy to fake --" I know C++" is much easier to write that the nice C++ code.

I finally decided that I was lousy at hiring: I look for reasons why someone would fit in, and ignore red flags. I want people to succeed....which is good, but can present an issue when hiring. So, I bailed on being the decider. I do assist in the process, but I make sure the manager knows what I think about my track record.

For what it is worth, my former division manager had a theory: all of the people he considers are technically qualified. He is looking for people that fit into his culture. In his organization, it was made up of mostly senior research scientists...he tried to make sure the hires did not require hand holding or close supervision.