Pongo Resume

I always say the best post topics come straight from real job seekers (like you). And this week, my idea came from a former co-worker who recently went through the whole job search process. She had two questions: "What's the best subject line for an email in response to a job ad?" and "Should you attach the cover letter to the email, or copy and paste it into the body of the email?" I always wondered this myself, so I did some research and here's the consensus:

Best Email Subject Line:

Jane Johnson resume for sales service position

It's straightforward and informative. It tells the recipient who you are, what you're sending, and why you're sending it.

This isn't a concrete formula, however. Since some job ads require you mention a job posting ID number when you apply, you should substitute the name of the position with the number. Example: Jane Johnson resume for Job #5527.

Best Way to Include Your Cover Letter:

Copy and paste your cover letter into the body of the email.

Why is this the preferred method? Three reasons: 1) It gives the recipient one less attachment to open, 2) It gets to the point faster than writing the awkward "here is my resume and cover letter" mumbo jumbo, and 3) It gives you the ability to make an impact as soon as the recipient opens your email. However, if you send your cover letter out using Pongo's cover letter builder, the application will paste a copy of your letter in the email and add one as an attachment. This way, employers can see your value up front and have the option to save the attachment too.

Need to build a cover letter? Pongo's Cover Letter Builder provides over a dozen cover letter templates with fill-in-the-blank sample text, best practice advice, and sample phrases to help you get started. You can even email your cover letter directly from your Pongo account. Build your cover letter today!

In this case, some of the typical cover letter rules would not apply. While a regular cover letter would include "To" and "From" addresses, email requires a different format. Skip the "To" and "From" but include the date, reference line, greeting, body, professional closing, and signature. Here's an example of what an email cover letter would look like:

Be sure to attach your resume to your email. And as always, refer to the company's job posting and apply, using whatever guidelines they specify. Adhering to the employer's guidelines will not only ensure your documents get to the right place at the right time, it will prove that you pay attention to details and follow instructions!

Do you have any other questions we haven't covered in this post about applying for jobs? Ask them here!

RELATED LINKS
How to Find a Name for Your Cover Letter Greeting
5 Basic Cover Letter Questions Answered
What to Say in Your Cover Letter

 

Now, I fully understand how to send a proper email without having too many attachments. It's especially important for my career (graphic design), because companies sometimes ask me for design examples to attach as well. The less work they have to do, the better! :)

@ SenWing: Thanks for the kudos. I'm glad I could help! You can find more sample sentences in our LetterBUILDER when you login to write your own cover letter, too.

What subject line would you use when emailing speculative applications?

Example: Employment Opportunities for Graphic Designer.

Does that answer your question?

In fact, Julie's post on cover letter greetings might help you even more: http://www.pongoresume.com/blogPosts/118/5-ways-to-screw-up-your-cover-letter-greeting.cfm

Your article outlines the basic approach I've been using, for the same reasons. Pleased to read it was pretty much in line with my own thoughts.

One thought came to mind: I would avoid including a Date in the body of the cover letter email for two reasons.

One, not always, but on occasion I've written an email late in the day and decided to send it the next morning. Having the date included in the body is an item easy to overlook updating. If you forget, and it conflicts with the email's own time/date stamp, it looks questionable.

Second, it is redundant because, as just mentioned, email has its own time/date stamp. Including it in the body of an email risks being a tad boorish, stuffy, and perhaps out of date with how email works.

Cheers, JT...

With due apologies I would like to differ a little on emailing the cover letter approach that this article defines.

I have seen that the person(s) who make the hiring decision don't get to see the email. Thier assistants/recruiters shortlist the candidates and ONLY the hard copies of filtered resumes reach the decision makers desk.

To counter this what I suggest is to make a single word/pdf file, rename it something like "CoverLetter & Resume - yourname". In this file paste your cover letter followed by the resume. This guarantees that both will reach the hiring manager.

I have seen amazing results with this approach !

Good Luck!!

Also, you want to explicitly ask for the interview at the end of the cover letter. For example, "I'm very excited to email for this position. Please call me now at 555-555-5555.

These two additions can make the difference between getting the interview and not.

Jess Alexander | How To Write A Cover Letter! Blog