Cover letters can be useful in some instances. I was very grateful to write a cover letter when I was changing careers because I wanted to explain why my prior work experience was seemingly at odds with my intended role.

But I only bother with putting that kind of care into a cover letter like that if I think I have very good odds of getting the job. In this case, I knew my chances were good because one of their top employees was recommending me.

Cover letters used to be a good indication of communication skills. And I don’t mean English skills, I mean the ability to convey a set of facts in an intuitive way. If you can’t write a coherent cover letter then God help us when I DM you on Slack about a problem.