I was reading this article on Marketwatch.

Not bad, for that site. Gets many things wrong, is very shallow, gets the causation backwards a few times of various realities of the world. Typical Marketwatch fare. No problem. It’s about average for them.

I know, I know — never read the comments. But this was the first one:

The entire comment is filled with such calumny, incomprehension and resentment that it almost seems to be a parody. Almost. But it’s not.

You can’t even refute something like that as it has nothing to do with truth, with the actual world. It’s just an amorphous exclamation of antipathy and odium such that there is no counterargument.

Just got back from the centrist rally. Amazing turnout. Thousands of people holding hands and chanting “Better things aren’t possible”

— Hippo (@InternetHippo) July 1, 2017

Yes, this works best in my field I’ve noticed.

Sometimes I painstakingly craft out a cover letter and tailor my CV, but that seems to actually have a negative impact. My success rate is best when I don’t write a cover letter at all; just attach your SO’s CV to a blank email.

My guess is that it shows you don’t really need their job, which makes you a more attractive candidate.

I also used to follow the advice of crafting a careful and thoughtful cover letter and putting a great deal of time into customizing my resume for submission.

This seems to result in a lower response rate, and a worse offer. I’m speculating this is only true of fields that have a real shortage of good candidates.

These days I include no or very minimal (obviously canned) cover letter and nothing else.

Response rate is much higher. Much, much higher using this “don’t care” approach.

As in the also rather-ridiculous dating market, showing that you have no great need for the job and couldn’t care less if they respond or not actually increases your response rate and your compensation. It demonstrates that you don’t need them — they need you.

So if your field is one where the demand for good candidates exceeds supply (and this is only a guess), then the playing it cool approach might serve you better.

It certainly does me.