# To Re-Use, or Not Re-Use, a Cover Letter **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581 "2013-02-28T01:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/1 "2013-02-28T01:33:43Z")
So, I recently saw a job I am interested in. As it turns out, I applied for the _exact same job_ in July (didn’t get an interview, but hope springs eternal). I’ve revised my resume a bit since then, so that’s new, but what do you think about re-using the same cover lover from my last application? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/2 "2013-02-28T01:47:01Z")
Uh…did your cover letter get you an interview last time? If it didn’t, why would you reuse one that didn’t get your foot in the door before? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/3 "2013-02-28T01:54:20Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Uh…did your cover letter get you an interview last time? If it didn’t, why would you reuse one that didn’t get your foot in the door before? Well, I fixed some problems in my resume in the meantime. It might have been a fine cover letter, and a poor resume, no? Plus, the job being with a large governmental agency, its impossible to know whether they ever got to the point of interviewing people on the previous posting. Sometimes those jobs don’t totally exist to the outside world, because they have a candidate in mind. I don’t necessarily disagree with you though. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/4 "2013-02-28T03:16:33Z")
Ugh, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate the whole concept of “cover letters.” I’ve never been able to make one that didn’t have me coming off sounding like an 8-year old boy. “Dear sir, Please hire me. I am good at my job, and think I would be job at the job I saw. You seem like a good company. I would be good at your good company.” ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/5 "2013-02-28T12:43:12Z")
I’m rarely involved in hiring, but if I were I think it’s more than likely I would notice if a cover letter came across my desk that was identical to one I had read a few months ago. I’m nothing particularly special so I imagine this would be true for others as well. And if so, I don’t think it would get your application off on the right foot. They may just think you are constantly sending the same letter template to lots of different places, for example. They may not even bother to read your updated resume, as they will assume it’s the same as before. I voted for option 2 in the poll but having posted this I’m leaning more towards option 3. It’s worth spending a few minutes revising it so it’s not immediately obvious that it’s essentially the same thing. Before I read the OP I assumed you were talking about using the same letter for an application for a similar job at a different company, but the OP implies it’s the same place as where you applied last time. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/6 "2013-02-28T13:47:23Z")
Yes, just be clear, it’s the same job, same company, same department, same job duties… And my experience hasn’t changed. If I were to reuse it, I wouldn’t need to change anything but the date and job reference number. The consensus seems to be what I was thinking- not a real good idea. Mainly I wondered if anyone thought it was a super good idea. So far no one does. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/7 "2013-02-28T14:14:56Z")
How long does it take to write a new cover letter? It may not hurt you if you use the old one, but why run the risk? ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-re-use-or-not-re-use-a-cover-letter/651581/8 "2013-02-28T16:22:36Z")
When I apply for a job I send three A4 sheets of paper stapled together. Top sheet is the covering letter, other two are the CV (all three sheets printed single-sided). My thought is that if the covering letter is good enough they will scan it and put me in the “possible” pile without ever needing to read the CV.