Many hiring managers and recruiters have increasingly dismissed cover letters as unnecessary in the modern hiring process. This happens for several reasons, but it creates a significant blind spot in evaluating candidates’ true potential (or lack thereof!) This article will discuss the candidate information that is available in cover letters and how to leverage this knowledge to make better hiring decisions starting with the initial application packet.
How Cover Letters Get Sidelined
The Resume-Centric Approach
Many hiring professionals have adopted a resume-first (or resume-only) mentality. They believe all the critical information they need—skills, experience, education—can be found in a structured resume format. This approach prioritizes credentials and work history over communication style and mindset. Bad idea! Keep reading to see why.
The Efficiency Argument
With applicant tracking systems and high volumes of applications, many recruiters argue they simply don’t have time to read cover letters. The question here is quality over quantity. If you want to save time in the long run, do quality work in assessment up front.
The “Nobody Writes Their Own” Myth
There’s a pervasive belief that cover letters aren’t authentic—that they’re either copied from templates, written by professional resume writers, or now, potentially generated by AI. This leads some to discount them entirely.
The Skills-Based Focus
Some industries have shifted toward skills-based hiring that emphasizes technical capabilities and measurable qualifications over “soft” communication skills. This approach naturally devalues cover letters. This is misguided, especially for leadership positions.
Why This Dismissal Is Problematic
When organizations ignore cover letters, they miss critical insights into candidates’ thought processes, communication styles, and approach to leadership.
Our process at The Bryan Group specifically looks at whether a candidate demonstrates an influence (people) versus a task (structure and process) orientation in their application materials. It’s in the cover letter where candidates show whether they prioritize people connections or technical tasks.
Influence vs. Task Orientation: The Leadership Indicator
What exactly is this influence orientation? According to our research, it’s the tendency to focus on people and relationships rather than just structures and processes; better leaders show a strong influence orientation.
This distinction is surprisingly difficult to spot in a resume but often comes through clearly in a cover letter.
Signs of an influence orientation include:
- It touches your heart: If you feel something other than boredom while reading it, you might have an influencer on your hands. Influencers connect emotionally, putting heart before head, touch before task, and relationship before relevance and rigor.
- It’s actually interesting: If reading their cover letter feels less like mandatory corporate training and more like something you’d voluntarily continue reading, that’s a good sign. Influence-oriented people know how to engage others.
- They did their homework: Did they tailor their letter to your needs, or did they just copy-paste the same generic message they’ve sent to 47 other companies? Influencers research and connect specifically with your organization.
- Balanced confidence: Does the candidate demonstrate competence without arrogance? How they position their achievements tells you a lot about their ego and self-awareness.
The Three Essential Mental Models
At The Bryan Group, we’ve observed how successful leaders operate across three distinct but interconnected mental frameworks. These aren’t just theoretical concepts—they’re practical tools that shape how effective leaders approach problems and make decisions.
Why Mental Models Matter in Leadership
When we evaluate leaders, starting with application reviews and continuing throughout the process, we’re essentially looking for evidence of these three complementary models working in harmony:
1. Profession-Specific Knowledge (Technical Expertise)
This encompasses the domain-specific expertise that varies by industry. For educators, this includes understanding teaching methodologies, curriculum design, assessment practices, and student development. For other sectors, it might involve specialized technical know-how relevant to the field.
What we notice is that while technical knowledge forms the foundation of credibility, its relative importance diminishes as leaders advance. For example, a superintendent needs to understand educational principles but doesn’t necessarily need to be the district’s best curriculum designer.
2. Managerial Frameworks (Systems and Processes)
This model focuses on the systematic aspects of organization: structures, processes, resource allocation, performance measurement, and improvement methodologies. It’s about creating order from complexity through frameworks that make organizations function effectively.
Leaders with strong managerial mental models excel at:
- Creating clear organizational structures
- Designing effective processes and procedures
- Implementing continuous improvement systems
- Managing projects from conception to completion
- Optimizing resource allocation
3. Leadership Approach (People and Influence)
This is where true leadership distinction emerges. This mental model centers on mobilizing people toward shared goals through influence rather than authority. It’s about inspiring commitment rather than demanding compliance.
Strong leadership mental models are characterized by:
- Motivating and inspiring teams
- Working through resistance constructively
- Building consensus and gaining buy-in
- Creating high-performing organizational cultures
- Developing other leaders throughout the organization
The Evolution of Mental Models Throughout a Career
What’s fascinating is how these models shift in prominence as careers progress:
- Early Career: Technical expertise dominates (75% technical, 20% managerial, 5% leadership)
- Mid-Career: A more balanced distribution emerges (40% technical, 40% managerial, 20% leadership)
- Executive Level: Leadership thinking predominates (20% technical, 30% managerial, 50% leadership)
The most effective senior leaders maintain sufficient technical knowledge to remain credible, strong managerial skills to ensure organizational effectiveness, but they primarily operate through their leadership mental model—focusing on people, culture, and strategic direction.
A strong cover letter will touch on all three models, with appropriate emphasis based on the position level. For senior roles, leadership thinking should predominate.
Assess Communication as a Work Sample
The cover letter itself is a demonstration of how the candidate communicates when not under interview pressure:
- Clarity and structure: Is the letter well-organized with a clear flow of ideas?
- Balance: Does it strike the right note between confidence and humility?
- Engagement factor: Is it compelling to read, or does it feel like a form letter?
- Storytelling ability: Do they share brief examples that illustrate their points effectively?
What’s Not Said Matters Too
Cover letters also reveal what candidates omit. We suggest paying attention to what’s missing, primarily what roles, competencies, leadership styles or other qualities were obviously missing from the letter of interest?
In addition, look for the answers to the following questions:
- Does the letter focus exclusively on technical achievements with no mention of people impact?
- Is there an absence of stories about collaboration, influence, or leadership?
- Does the candidate fail to connect their experience to your specific organizational needs?
- Is there a lack of mention about community or stakeholder relationships?
A cover letter focused solely on technical achievements might indicate someone who views leadership as a series of tasks to complete rather than people to engage. It’s like hiring a wedding DJ who only talks about their equipment specifications without mentioning how they get people dancing.
Putting Cover Letters Back in the Spotlight
To leverage cover letters as a valuable part of your hiring system:
- Know what you’re looking for: Have clear criteria for roles, competencies, and leadership styles – like a detective with an actual description of the suspect rather than just “suspicious-looking person.”
- Assess communication quality: The cover letter itself is a work sample of the candidate’s communication ability.
- Note omissions: What important qualities or competencies aren’t mentioned?
- Compare with other materials: Use cover letters as one piece of evidence in a structured evaluation process.
The Stakes Are High
In our increasingly relationship-driven workplace, understanding a candidate’s approach to influence and connection is more important than ever. Cover letters provide a window into this critical dimension of performance that other application materials simply can’t match.
When organizations dismiss cover letters as irrelevant or outdated, they unnecessarily limit their insight into what truly makes candidates effective—not just what they’ve done, but how they approach getting things done with and through others.
So before you automatically skip to the resume in your next hiring round, remember: that cover letter might be telling you exactly what you need to know about your next potential hire – for better or worse.