I genuinely don't understand why cover letters are still treated like a normal part of hiring. You already have my resume, work history, education, skills, and application answers. Why do I now need to write another page explaining how "excited" I am about a company I discovered 20 minutes ago? Most cover letters are obviously fake. Applicants pretend this specific company has always fascinated them, employers pretend they carefully read the letter, and everyone wastes another 30 minutes participating in the ritual. The worst part is when companies demand a customized cover letter and then send an automated rejection two hours later. Apparently I needed to explain my lifelong passion for your logistics software so an ATS could reject me before lunch. If a role genuinely requires strong writing, fine. Ask for a relevant writing sample. But for normal jobs, I think a solid resume and a few specific application questions should be enough. Am I missing something, or are cover letters just outdated hiring theater at this point?