Cover letter handwritten or not?

The job market is very tight today. Even a few decades ago, this problem did not exist. To find work, it was enough to leave home. Times have changed. The number of unemployed is exploding. The requirements of recruiters have evolved over time , the market encouraging them to be more and more demanding. As the supply market is more important than the demand market, they can easily afford it.

In this context, it is therefore often necessary to put together concrete application files in order to be able to get an interview, and possibly a job . More and more companies are also choosing to outsource the selection of applications to intermediaries. It is therefore all the more important to make your file stand out from the crowd.

A traditional application naturally contains a CV. This document is not necessarily easy to write. Also, do not hesitate to consult our other articles to help you put together a document that both meets the expectations of recruiters in this area, and at the same time sufficiently original so that it stands out and ends up on the top of the pile.

If the CV allows the recruiter to identify your profile in terms of skills and experience mainly, write the cover letter it gives more personal elements as to the reason for your application for the position and the importance you attach to it. This element can tip your application, for better or for worse. It is therefore important to spend time writing this letter.

One of the questions that arise today is: Should the cover letter be handwritten or typed? In the computer age, it is indeed very tempting to type your letter on word processing software. So good or bad idea?

Basically, if you want to write your cover letter by hand, good handwriting is essential. The presentation of your illegible or confusing cover letter can only serve you. Not to mention that applications are most of the time sent by email (it is more likely that your application will reach the final interlocutor by email transfer than by follow-up mail). You must therefore scan your handwritten cover letter in order to be able to include it in your email. The quality may still be affected. The new generations who grow up with modern computing no longer even ask the question, and type their cover letters. Sending a handwritten letter makes you affiliated with older generations . Nothing very modern to all this then.

The solution then: opt for a typed cover letter. You make sure that you are fully readable and that you are not judged by the quality of your writing . You can also use the spell checker in your software to limit mistakes if you are not a spelling ace, whereas on a handwritten letter, the slightest mistake requires reworking the entire document. A typed document allows you to fit more text on a single page. A one-page computer letter can easily be a two-page handwritten letter etc. You might as well say that if the recruiter sees arriving by email a scanned handwritten letter unreadable and long like a novel, your application will go directly through the trash.

So put all the chances on your side and opt for the typed letter. While some recruiters now use the services of graphologists to identify candidate profiles, do not give up sending your documents in computer format. If necessary, the recruiter will have you write a specific paragraph that will allow the graphologist to do his job. As much as a handwritten letter can discriminate against you, the reverse is rarely true. So if you haven’t yet entered the digital age, it’s high time to put your fountain pen back in the drawer and take the plunge!