Meet the perfect job interview door opener. It’s a brief document to entice the reader to turn to your resume and then call you for an interview for the hospitality job of your dreams.

It’s the cover letter, a sometimes misunderstood document that can mean the difference between meeting the garbage can and meeting your next employer.

Beyond the basics

Grabbing the reader from the beginning is a certain way to snare an interview for a hospitality job.

Right up front, you need a key selling point, an absolute attention-grabber that’s clever enough to get the employer to read on and that sets you apart from the crowd. It’s this phrase or sentence that will make the reader inquisitive enough to turn to your resume.

Here are a few examples:

• I doubled the size of my last employer over the last two and half years.
• Sales of wine increased by 20 percent when I became the sommelier at my last restaurant.
• I won the Top Chef Award two years in a row.
• I was voted the best server in my city five times.
• I’ve trained 59 desk clerks and been head-hunted by 11 hotel chains.

Use it to open the door. For instance, find the word ’server’ in your dictionary. Spell it out phonetically and in dictionary style. Type out the definition. Right below it, type out your name, using the same phonetics and definition again. Don’t be afraid to use a clever gimmick to get in there. In the mass of humanity of an overburdened hiring officer, something like this will get that person’s attention.

The dos and dont’s of a stand-out cover letter

Do give the basics: what job you’re applying for, the name of the establishment, and so on. Someone might have told you to send the letter to a particular person, so mention your referee by name.

Address the cover letter as specific as possible. Determine who the hiring officer is before replying and applying. Take the time to research on the internet or read appropriate business periodicals to get the name and title of the hiring official. This will help you get a foot in the door. And don’t open your letter with Dear Sir or Madam or To Whom It May Concern. At the same time, do use Mr. or Ms. This formality shows respect.

• If you’re replying to an ad mentioning a code or job number, refer to this in your cover letter.
• Do include something you’re not going to include in your resume.
• Check, check and check again to ensure your letter is typo-free. Ask a friend to be another set of eyes.
• If you’re emailing your letter, make sure your document will open properly as an attachment and that your computer system is virus free.
• Always follow up. Give a specific date and time on your cover letter that you’ll call the hiring official.
• Don’t be afraid to use a clever gimmick to catch the recruiter’s eye.
• Don’t be longwinded. A few succinct sentences will suffice.
• Don’t reiterate your whole resume in a cover letter. An employer will read your resume anyway, if he or she likes your letter, so stick to the high points.
• Don’t overpromise in your cover letter and underdeliver in your resume.
• Leave the funny fonts and colored paper at home. Your cover letter should be easy to read.
• Never use a one-size-fits-all cover letter. Customized approaches always win the interview.
• With a little flair and a lot of common sense, you can ensure you not only get a foot in the door but an offer on the table for the hospitality job you desire.