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&lt;p&gt;Is crafting the perfect cover letter worth the time and effort you put into it? Not according to research conducted by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.addisongroup.com/news/your-cover-letter-and-volunteer-experience-dont-matter-to-hiring-managers-s/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the Addison Group&lt;/a&gt;, which surveyed hiring managers about the factors that are most important to them when assessing candidates. According to that research, just 18% &#160;rank cover letters—or their equally antiquated cousin the thank you note—as important parts in assessing potential candidates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That&#39;s great news for those of us with an instinctive dislike of self-promotion, and for whom the concept of a mandated piece of &quot;proper&quot; job search etiquette such as the thank you note seems downright phony.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So what truly matters in your job search? Your skills and your experience, which 51% and 54% of managers respectively identified as the most important factors on a resume.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But make sure that you&#39;re putting down &lt;em&gt;work&lt;/em&gt; experience: hiring managers place much more emphasis on that than the school you attended or the volunteer work you&#39;ve been doing. Those can help, but nothing is going to get you the job like, well, proof that you can do the job.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Before we cut to the infographic from the group, here are a couple of other interesting tidbits to consider:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;77% of hiring managers identify the reputation of your previous employer as important.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Only 40% of hiring managers place any degree of significance on your GPA.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;But 55% think that typos are the worst mistake you can make on a resume.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Want to know more? Check out this infographic from the Addison Group. And be sure to let us know your thoughts on any aspect of this in the comments below!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://media2.vault.com/18692/2015_survey_infographic__2_.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Hiring manager factors&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Phil Stott

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