Job application form asks questions that are already answered in my cover letter

Question

In a graduate role application form, it asks you to type or upload a cover letter in one section, then in a later section there is a shorter textbox (1/4 the character limit) for answering a "why are you applying to this role" type question.

In this situation, is it acceptable to basically copy and paste from a paragraph in my cover letter where I have gone about explaining why I'm applying for this role? It perhaps seems a bit lazy to duplicate content like this, but on the other hand, one of the points of a cover letter is to answer this question anyway! What's the point of rephrasing what I've already spent time & effort writing?

Answer 1

Many times the text boxes in the online form are asking for info on your resume/CV or cover letter.

You have no idea if the reader will look at both so don't skip any sections.

If the info from the uploaded document will fit in their text box, just use it. Be careful because the text box generally removes all formatting, so if the paragraph relies on formatting make sure it still looks good.

Answer 2

In this situation, is it acceptable to basically copy and paste from a paragraph in my cover letter where I have gone about explaining why I'm applying for this role?

I suggest you try to paraphrase it a bit at least, so it is not an exact copy of that last paragraph.

It could be they are asking you to put that in the textbox so they can see some sort of mini introduction to what could be included in your cover letter (I suppose that textbox has a character limit). It could also be some feature on their webpage that they didn't think through (I'm guessing it's the first option).

Therefore, it could be worth including in such textbox a summary of the points you address on your cover letter, so readers can be more inclined to do a full review of your application.

Answer 3

I would also copy & paste (shorten a bit if necessary). Rational being:

1. I don´t want to introduce any contradiction by rephrasing.
2. I guess such a form has this fields because they want this information in some kind of database for quick access without having to process the cover letters further. In this case this is exactly what they´d have done, had they filled their database themselves.