Job Hunters Take A Stand: We’re Not Writing Cover Letters

As employers struggle to fill millions of openings, applicants are using their leverage to forgo what, until recently, was a must for landing a decent job

DAISY KORPICS/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK

To Whom It May Concern: Job applicants are putting a hard stop to those dreaded cover letters.

Many hiring managers say a sharp cover letter remains one of the best ways to make the case for why you are the right person for the job. Yet many job seekers say the self-promoting exercise is too torturous and time-consuming to be worth the effort for a less-than-dream role. It’s also just plain insulting, they argue, since it’s often an algorithm, not a human, that screens and sorts the applications.

Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8