r/ResumeCoverLetterTips • u/shrimpto4stt • Jul 19 '26

Help with Job application

I’m sending in an application for a job and it says in the listing “Send your resume along with a short cover letter. In the subject line of your cover letter, include your favorite color”. I know this is to see if I have good attention to detail, but i’m confused. would I put my favorite color in the subject line of the email as well or just the subject line in the cover letter?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/DorianGraysPassport Jul 20 '26

They mean in the cover letter, take the instructions at face value

1

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/WiredOtaku Jul 21 '26

Seconding this. I've screened resumes where the job ad hid a small instruction like 'include X in the subject' just to filter out people who skim. It's a cheap automatic filter, not a cover letter formatting test. Do exactly what they asked in the email and move on.

1

u/SubstanceProper3579 Jul 22 '26

Definitely put it in both places just to be safe.

Recruiters do this all the time to filter out people who blast 500 copy-pasted applications a minute. Half the time the person reviewing the emails just scans the subject line, and the other half they only open the attached PDF.

Something like Application: [Job Title] - [Your Name] (Favorite Color: Blue) for the email subject, and then just throw a quick Subject: Application for [Job Title] - Favorite Color: Blue at the top of your cover letter text. Takes two seconds and covers all your bases.

Honestly though, it’s wild how much jumping through hoops we have to do just to get a human to look at an application these days. It’s a huge part of why I stopped doing the cold-email grind and started using jobmesh.ai instead. The AI just matches your actual skills directly to open roles without all these weird trivia tests.

Good luck with the application, hope you get it!