Credit: Scott Graham

New York/Hamburg, December 6, 2022 – A classic job application has always consisted of a cover letter, a resume and certificates or references. Sometimes a letter of motivation was also required. The freelancer platform WorkGenius (www.workgenius.com) has found out in an analysis that these times are mostly over. The New York-based technology company examined the current job openings of up to 40 different DAX 40, Dow Jones and FTSE 100 companies regarding their required mandatory documents. The classic cover letter and proof of references are becoming less and less relevant: Only six percent of the companies insist on a cover letter or letter of motivation, while two percent require references. 

Hardly any companies want to see a cover letter in the first application step
Via digital application platforms, most companies allow applicants to click through to the end of the application process without providing a cover letter or letter of motivation. In Germany, jobseekers are expected to explain their reasons for applying at Hannover Re, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care and Linde (ten percent), in the UK at Glencore and Barclays (five percent). In the US, in contrast, a cover letter or a letter of motivation is not mandatory at any of the surveyed companies (zero percent). 

The uploading of certificates or references is also only rarely a requirement: Only the German companies Porsche and Hannover Re insist on these supporting documents. 

Salary expectations more important in Germany and the UK than in the US
In Germany and the UK, it is much more common to require applicants to state their salary expectations than in the US: 40 percent of German companies require applicants to state their expected salary, while for 23 percent of the openings, this information is voluntary. In the UK, 38 percent of companies require applicants to state their salary expectations, while 30 percent allow applicants to do so of their own accord. The two British employers Lloyds Banking Group and the Auto Trader Group are the only companies to already specify a salary range in advance.

US companies, on the other hand, rarely want to read anything about salary at the time of application: Only Johnson & Johnson, American Express and Walgreens Boots Alliance require this information. Visa, Home Depot, Dow and McDonald’s leave it open to the applicant. 

Resume is the most important document for Germans, Brits and Americans 
It is obvious which application document has the highest relevance for the DAX 40, Dow Jones and FTSE 100 companies: the CV. At 72 percent of the companies, applicants will not get anywhere without it; at the rest, the upload is optional. While the clear majority of companies in the UK and Germany want to see their applicants resume (83 and 78 percent, respectively), not even half of the companies in the US require a CV (48 percent). Since many American companies also don’t require cover letters or references, this effectively means that it is possible for applicants to apply without providing any documents at all.

Daniel Barke, CEO of WorkGenius, comments on the analysis:

“There is already a clear trend away from detailed application portfolios to quick and simple applications with simply a resume—after all, the CV contains all the important information about the school and professional career of applicants. However, I think that the standard resume actually will not have a future either. What companies need to know about their applicants is: What qualifications do the candidates have? What experience do they have? We don’t need demographic information, and we don’t need to know what university was attended or what school internships were completed. As an employer, I want to see evidence that the candidate has the skills required for the open position. This is also important to us at WorkGenius: that’s why our AI matches freelancers with suitable companies based solely on their skills and experience.”

All results of the analysis can be found here:
https://www.workgenius.com/de/internationaler-bewerbungsverfahrensvergleich/

About the analysis
WorkGenius analyzed the speed and documents required in the application processes of DAX40, Dow Jones and FTSE 100 companies. To accomplish this, the company looked at current job advertisements and examined how many clicks were required to complete the application, which documents had to be uploaded compulsorily and what score the job advertisements achieved in PageSpeed Insights in the computer display. Apple was not included in the analysis because the application would have required the creation of an Apple ID. It was assumed that the users did not have a registered account with the companies, should this be necessary to apply. The cut-off date was August 11, 2022.