I'm facing redundancy and in a very brief conversation with someone in our recruitment team yesterday I was told nobody expects a cover letter as part of applications any more.
It has always been drummed into me that cover letters are essential, so this came as a surprise. I actually don't really believe her.
I'm applying for head office roles of big brands e.g. Tesco, Arcadia, Hilton, Primark. All of which seem to have application portals where you are asked to upload a CV. They don't mention cover letters but I would have just put it as the first page of my cv.
Any recruiters from big companies out there? Can you tell me if you expect a cover letter? I'm junior management level.