Two Ways to Catch Eyes With Your Cover Letter
The Postscript Technique
If you want to add an extra visual draw to your cover letter, consider adding a P.S. at the end. This works especially well in focusing on your most marketable attribute. An example would be:
"P.S. I was the first intern ever to receive the Employee of the Month award at EY's New York office. And I won it not once, but twice. I am looking forward to bringing that same level of passion for my work to you at Big Public Accounting."
And if you truly want maximum impact, handwrite your P.S. Yes, I know that part will not be machine readable. But I guarantee it will be the first thing read by anyone who reads the cover letter in full format.
The Testimonial Cover Letter Technique
A unique, highly effective way to get your message across to a prospective employer is to add testimonials to your cover letter. Testimonials add credibility to your presentation. They provide more than the "I think I'm great" viewpoint by showing that someone else also thinks you are great.
There are three ways to incorporate this technique into your cover letter. The first is to place the testimonial quote within the body of the cover letter, along with the person's name and phone number in parentheses. The testimonial can be provided as a separate paragraph or can be incorporated into the text of the skills/benefits paragraph. The second is to actually use a testimonial letter as the full cover letter introduction of you. The third is to include a copy of one of your testimonial letters along with your resume and cover letter. Read more about how to use testimonials and letters of reference.
Testimonials can provide expansive power to your personal presentation. Make sure you take full advantage of them whenever the opportunity presents itself.