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Comment by ankhmoop | Hacker News Reader

Another ridiculous anecdotal extrapolation from 37signals.

When I'm hiring, I only look to the cover letter to determine whether the candidate is personally interested in the job, not whether they're qualified for it.

Might I suggest a new title: "If you want to work at 37signals, forget the resume, kill on the cover letter."

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Really does sound like a fun place to work. Just be careful you don't write '37 signals' anywhere with a space! Taking self importance to a whole new level.

http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1088-how-not-to-apply-for...

That post alone makes it seem like a little less fun place to work.

I don't understand this complaint. Of course this article is about how to get hired at 37signals and companies that hire in a similar manner. Why on earth would DHH bother writing about how to get hired at companies that don't have hiring practices similar to those of his company? I'd hope that most readers understand that companies are not all the same in their hiring and what may get you hired at one will not get you hired at another.

It's easy to tell at a glance if someone took the time to research your company and write a real cover letter versus the standard mail merge (or, worse, no cover letter).

Then, perhaps I'm biased -- I was later told that it was my cover letter that got me my current job (and no, I don't work at 37signals).

I'm confused. What's ridiculous about exhorting people to write kick-ass cover letters?

The "forget the resume" part, or perhaps the "we don't believe in years of irrelevance" -- they believe 6 months and 5 years of experience are roughly the same when it comes to productivity.

http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/833-years-of-irrelevance

By all means, write a good cover letter -- but be aware that apparently unlike 37signals, some hiring managers do actually skim resumes when making the first cut. I'd feel irresponsible not doing so.

"Write a good cover letter", however, is not particularly novel or link-bait worthy advice.

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