Cover Letter for Federal Job

[Klaus_Heisler]

What do people think about submitting cover letters for federal jobs? All the listings I see indicate that they are optional, but I don't want to shoot myself in the foot for a job that I am very interested in.

For some context, I'm a current VA employee looking to move within the agency. (I'd ask colleagues but not quite ready to advertise that I'm looking elsewhere)

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[WisNeuro]

Generic cover letter is fine. You should have one saved somewhere, nothing I'd spend more than 10 minutes throwing together.

 

[summerbabe]

Seems very dubious if these ever make it out from HR to a hiring manager so I have a few generic drafts for different types of positions (BHIP, PCT, etc) and would just update the facility.

Now, if it’s a direct hire situation and you’re emailing a CV/cover letter to a chief or program manager, then I would make sure it’s very specifically tailored to that position.

 

[cara susanna]

FWIW, I've seen people on selection committees express favorable opinions on submitting cover letters--basically, it shows effort and might set you above the others if they don't. I've always included them, myself.

 

[pediatric_psydoc]

I can’t attest specifically to federal jobs, but as someone who just went through a job searching process, I was sure to include “buzz words” from the job post/listing in my CV and cover letter if they reflected things I had experience in. Often times, candidates’ materials first go through a recruiter and/or hiring manager before they are seen by a psychologist. The recruiter won’t know what ERP is but if it’s in the job post and in a candidate’s materials, it’s probably heading in the right direction.

I’ve also heard of software scanning candidate materials for “buzz words” before the materials even get to the recruiter if there are a lot of applications. Not sure if this happens in psychology.