The first type of cover letter is the invited type of cover letter is in response to a want advertisement and can be given in detail about the job requirements in the advertisement. This type of cover letter is useful for the one fifth of the jobs that are publicly advertised, rest of the jobs are not advertised publicly. The second type of cover letter is called the uninvited or cold-contact cover letter, which is generally a component of mass mailing and needs some homework from the job seeker to find out about each potential recipient company. The uninvited letter is the best technique to get in to the “hidden” job market, where 80 percent of the jobs creep around.
The second type is normally the referral cover letter, which uses name listing to obtain the employer’s attention; it is another excellent technique to get in to the hidden job market. When a mutual friend gives you a hint about a job opening, you can utilize his or her name to your benefit in a cover letter: “John Smith suggested I contact you about the job you have in sales.”
