Christy’s Response:  Interesting question. It never crossed my mind that it could be considered unethical. It is a service that is frequently needed and provided. I would go even further and RECOMMEND that people hire someone to write their cover letter or have their draft reviewed. I strongly recommend it after my recent experience recruiting candidates for several open positions in Manufacturing. I posted the jobs on Monster and received over 500 resumes. My estimate is that less than 10% of applicants bothered to submit a coverletter. Those who did not write a cover letter, missed on the perfect opportunity to tell me about their qualifications in light of my job profile. They missed the perfect opportunity to explain portions of their resume that needed to be explained (the things that make recruiters pass on resumes because they can’t call everyone). They missed the opportunity to sell me on the fact that they are perfectly suited for my job opening and they WANT to be considered and why.

My advice: Job seekers SHOULD get help on cover letters (and resumes) and use their well-written, sales-oriented cover letter on the major job boards. Most of the competition doesn’t seem to be bothering. ~Christy