Career Advice for Job Seekers

“Undercover” Cover Letter Secrets

William Frierson AvatarWilliam Frierson
April 4, 2014


Jimmy Sweeney

Jimmy Sweeney, President of CareerJimmy

Rich and Joan are movie buffs. They particularly enjoy spy thrillers and murder mysteries because of the suspense throughout and then the surprise endings. But they recently admitted they were spending too much time watching films and not enough on finding the job they wanted—working as a catering team. But after an intense job search of more than six months, they were still without meaningful employment and were living off savings—which were disappearing fast.

One evening while watching an old spy movie on TV Joan realized that what kept them glued to the screen was the unexpected twists and turns in the plot. Just when they thought they had things figured out, some new event would be uncovered.

That led Joan to thinking about how she and her husband could try something new in their job search cover letters—especially since the old method wasn’t working.

“We weren’t even receiving the courtesy of a rejection letter,” joked Rich.

They needed to include some undercover secrets of their own—fresh ways to present the same information in order to engage the hiring manager in a new way. After doing a little research here’s what they came up with.

1. Greet the hiring manager by name. Don’t settle for “Dear Sir or Madam” or worse, “To whom it may concern.” Such headings are weapons not greeting. Do whatever it takes to find out the name of the person to whom you are writing. Check the website or call the company. The sound of one’s name is music to the ears.

2.  Create a fabulous headline to corral the hiring manager’s attention. Just above the letter greeting, place a solid sentence that communicates what you want. This is an undercover cover letter secret that is still uncovered in most parts of the business world. People simply don’t know about it. Now you do. Example:

Trained Cuisine Team Ready to Take Your Catering Business to the Next Level!

3.  List the job requirements in a column on the left and your matching skills in a column on the right. Example:

Job Requirement    Matching Skills/Ability

Trained Cooks    ABC Cooking School Grads
Innovative Party Foods    Secret Recipes Known Only to Us.

4. Add a P.S. to your cover letter. Here’s another undercover cover letter secret that will snatch attention, create a smile, and give you one last chance to request an interview. If you can leave the hiring manager feeling respected and even smiling, you’re sure to be contacted for a personal meeting where you can provide more detail about your qualifications. Examples:

P.S. Let us show you what we can do for your catering business. We will surprise you in ways you can’t imagine until you taste the food we prepare.

P.S. Want to know more about what I can do for your company? And how I’ll fit in with your family of employees? Call anytime: 888-888-8888 I’d be honored to meet for an interview at a time that works for you.

If your same-old, same-old cover letter has let you down, then explore these undercover secrets when you write yours and you’ll be answering the phone day and night!

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,
Amazing Cover Letter Creator

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new, “Amazing Cover Letter Creator.” Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets.”

Visit our friends at Amazing Cover Letters for your “instant” cover letter today. “In just 3½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition like a hot knife through butter!”

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