Any hiring managers out there?

kns1988

I know some people have mentioned that they have hiring duties at their jobs. What are your thoughts on including excerpts from a performance review in a cover letter? I read on a blog (askamanager.org) that it was a good idea, but it seems kind of forced and possibly cheesy. That being said, my last performance review was badass so it might be good to include a sentence or two. 

I haven't been around for a while (long time lurker, occasional poster), but I really value people's opinions on here. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm also just generally interested in what people think. You don't have to be a hiring manager

STARMOON44

I think it probably depends on your industry. In mine, law, I would find it really odd to see, and cover letters aren't terribly important since mostly decision makers don't even see them, but I could see it working for some jobs.

kns1988

Thanks, @Starmoon44. I'm in IT. I could see it depending on profession. The applications always have a section for cover letter, but I don't know if people read them.

JoanE2012

I'm in finance.  While not in a hiring position, I do interview some candidates.  I never see a cover letter.  When I see resumes, I hate when I see things like "objectives" and "hobbies" or GPAs when you've been out of school for years.   Needless to say, I wouldn't be a fan of quoting performance reviews.  Your resume should speak for itself.

TrixieJess

I work in IT in HR and never ask for cover letters. In IT it's more important that your skills and qualifications are on your résumé than a well written cover letter. When I did hiring for other industries, cover letters are just to expand on your skills, a performance review would be better as a reference.

[Deleted User]

I'm a recruiter, and not a fan of cover letters. Don't generally read them. I have seen quotes on some resumes before and it did seem odd, or a bit forced as you mentioned. We request performance reviews occasionally (for internal candidates mostly), and have seen external candidates submit theirs with a portfolio/work samples when they make it to final round interviews.

If you get to an interview I think it would be better to just offer to provide past reviews and references if they want them.

huskypuppy14

If you're a good qualified candidate it wouldn't hurt, but if you're not what the company is looking for, it probably won't help either. In my company we are just looking for the best candidate in both experience and personality. 

Can you give an example of the excerpt you'd like to add. Because you might just be able to add that idea as one of your accomplishments on your resume instead.  Like if you wanted to add, Sally is a hard worker that instituted a new company wide email exchange. Just add that to your resume, but not quoted.

kns1988

@huskypuppy14, it's more like soft skills that I'd want to include. My resume is pretty strong on numbers and deliverables (e.g. reduced X% of maintenance costs), but I thought I might be able to include some of the compliments from my boss, like:

"Thrives on challenges and self-learning" 

"Consistently exceeds the expected standards"

But now that I'm thinking about it, hard examples are probably better than fluffy words. 

Liatris2010

kns1988 said:

@huskypuppy14, it's more like soft skills that I'd want to include. My resume is pretty strong on numbers and deliverables (e.g. reduced X% of maintenance costs), but I thought I might be able to include some of the compliments from my boss, like:

"Thrives on challenges and self-learning" 

"Consistently exceeds the expected standards"

But now that I'm thinking about it, hard examples are probably better than fluffy words. 

Yes.

emmaaa

I work in local government, recreation. I have a system when it comes to what parts of an application I read. I first look at the job history and look for gaps of employment and past jobs that could be related to the job they're applying for. Then I read over their resume and look for certifications and skills. After that, when I'm down to my last 3 or so candidates, I will read their cover letter. Sometimes the cover letter can tell me how well they can actually articulate their thoughts and how they think their past experience is relevant and can be beneficial in my agency. 

I think including a performance review is a bit much. You include references or provide them when asked and they can speak to your performance for you.

[Deleted User]

If you can boil things down, you could include that "soft skill' type of info in thank you letters after your interview.

I've gotten a LOT of compliments on my thank you letters b/c I do more than just say "thanks for the interview."  I use it as one last way to set myself apart from other candidates.  The trick is doing it in no more than 5-7 sentences since no one has time to read any longer. 

Message me if if you want some examples.

futurecptkirk

I agree with the thank you letters post interviews, but in order to get considered for an interview in IT I would highly discourage a cover letter and any fluff. I'm currently in public accounting, which is not like IT, but I would say IT people and accounting people have pretty similar reputations haha. My resume is much heavier on the numbers. I was in finance through college until I completed my masters. So my resume for an internship I had in college says "maintained portfolio of 30 stocks for portfolio manager with $150m AUM," etc. All bullet points and just hard numbers. 

 

My family is extremely business minded and we are very cut to the chase, no bullshit when it comes to work. On here it's another story for me, but my work emails/memos are always succinct and no filler. I know the portfolio manager I worked for would throw away a resume with too much filler as she simply doesn't have the time to read it. The IT auditors I work with are pretty similar to her. Not sure if that helps!