Table 3 The association between providing a cover letter and other variables
Variable | Levels | Provide cover letter | p-value chi-square | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes (n = 206) | No (n = 386) | |||
Gender | Female Male Not provided | 129 75 2 | 240 138 8 | 0.61 |
Newly graduated | No Yes Not provided | 132 72 2 | 223 155 8 | 0.246 |
The same font used consistently | Yes No | 185 21 | 362 24 | 0.082 |
Punctuations used consistently | Yes No | 102 104 | 221 165 | 0.07 |
Experience list included | Yes No Incomplete | 75 126 2 | 125 253 8 | 0.28 |
Marital status included | Yes No | 85 121 | 147 239 | 0.45 |
City of living included | Yes No | 177 29 | 332 54 | 0.98 |
Personal statement included | Yes No | 161 45 | 302 84 | 0.98 |
The list of skills included | Yes No | 182 14 | 368 18 | 0.28 |
List of skills tailored to the advertised job | No list of skills* Yes No | 14 40 152 | 18 90 278 | 0.34 |
Personal photo included | Yes No | 172 34 | 308 78 | 0.273 |
Type of personal photo | Casual Official No photo* | 29 143 34 | 100 208 78 | < 0.001 Phi(φ) = 0.14 |
University grade level | Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Not provided | 41 55 20 1 89 | 53 85 74 2 172 | 0.027** |
Referees list included in the CV/job application | Yes No Upon request | 29 130 47 | 36 262 88 | 0.2 |
At least one misuse of big and small letters at the start of the sentences | Yes No | 192 14 | 354 32 | 0.518 |
At least one misuse of big and small letters for cities and names | Yes No | 201 5 | 363 23 | 0.054 |
CV file format | Word Image Other | 186 18 2 0 | 300 64 14 8 | 0.001** |
Number of CV/job application pages | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 92 84 24 4 2 0 | 215 133 26 10 1 1 | 0.11 |