E-Mail Cover Letters
Something happens to people
when they get online. Maybe it's the instant access, maybe it's
the anonymity, but when people get online they sometimes get overly
casual and informal. This
might be fine when you're talking to your friend in Omaha or the someone you just met in a chat
room, but it doesn't work well when you're trying to get business done.
Just because you're communicating online does not mean you should consider yourself exempt
from any of the formalities of paper-based communication. Online cover letters are notoriously
awful, poorly written throwaways of fewer than three lines whose only purpose is to say "I'm
applying, this is my résumé, have a nice day."
When formatting the cover letter, stick to left-justified headers and four-inch wide text lines
in your paragraphs. You never know when the address you're mailing to has a small e-mail-page
format that will awkwardly wrap text around the screen. Also, many e-mail systems cannot
handle text enhancements like bolding, bulleting or underlining, so play it safe by using
CAPITAL LETTERS -- or dashes -- if you need to make an emphasis.
Proper E-mail Cover Letter Etiquette
Anil Dash, the former chief information technology officer for an online music video production
studio in Manhattan, lost his job this January when the company fired nearly all its employees.
Since then, Dash figures he's applied for more than a dozen jobs, contacting every one of the
potential employers - befitting an out-of-work CIO - through e-mail.
But every time he prepares another e-mail, he faces a choice. Should he bother to write an email cover letter,
the sort of thing he'd do if he were mailing the résumé, or should he merely
dash off a few lines to the effect of, "Hi, I'm interested in your job, and I've attached my
résumé as a Word file. Thanks." "I do cover letters for jobs I really want," Dash says. "For ones I
don't care about, I just spam them."
Why Cover Letters Still Matter
According to recruiting experts, Dash is doing the right thing by writing extensive e-mail cover
letters. Even though cover letters came of age in the age of pen and paper (or typewriter and
paper), they still have a place in the 21st century, when want ads, résumés, and interviews all
fly over virtual networks. "It's going over the Internet, but it's the same product," Madeline
Miller, the manager of Compu-Type Nationwide résumé Service in upstate New York, said of email cover letters. "The cover is very important and it should be the same quality if you were
to mail it."
Since e-mail messages generally tend to be conversational and quickly written, many people
aren't used to drafting carefully written e-mail cover letters. But Miller said any applicant who creates a fully-fleshed e-mailed cover letter has an advantage over an applicant with a more
slapdash cover letter.
"There is a tendency to jot off a few lines, and people might write, "I'm applying for this job,
here is my résumé," Miller said. "But if there is a cover letter, that could put somebody over
the top." But at the same time, make sure your e-mailed cover letter isn't a chore to read. If
brevity is a virtue with conventional cover letters, it's a necessity for e-mailed cover letters.
Appropriate Cover Letter Length
Reesa Staten, the research director for OfficeTeam, a staffing service firm, says e-mailed
résumés shouldn't run more than two or three paragraphs.
"You want to include the same type of information, albeit in a shorter version," Staten said.
"What you don't want to do is rehash your résumé. There's no need to restate what you've done
in the past. What you want to do is tell them where you learned about the listing, why you're
right for the job, and how they can reach you."
Tips for Sending Cover Letters and résumés
If you really want the job, follow up an e-mailed cover letter and résumé with a hard copy you
mail. Make sure this hard copy includes a cover letter, too, that restates who you are and why
you're qualified. Somewhere in the cover letter, be sure to write, "I recently e-mailed you my
résumé and I'm following up with this hard copy."
Why should you do this? A hard copy gives your résumé another chance for exposure and makes
it easier for a potential boss to pass around or file your cover letter and résumé. In cases where
your e-mailed cover letter and résumé have been overlooked in someone's in-box or rendered
inaccessible by a computer glitch, a hard copy may be your only chance for exposure.
If you're including a résumé as an attachment, first make sure the prospective employer
accepts attachments. Then, in your cover letter, mention the program you used to create your
attachment. ("I've enclosed a cover letter written in Microsoft Word 2000.") It's also a good idea
to include a cut and paste text version of your résumé in addition, in case the person reading
the résumé doesn't have the software to open your attachment.
With any résumé file you're attaching, open it first to make sure it's updated, error free, and
the version of your résumé you want to send. Sending a virus is tantamount to sealing your jobdoom. Save a copy of whatever you send by including your own e-mail address in the "BCC"
field or by making sure a copy goes to your "Sent mail" folder. This allows you to resend the
letter if a problem pops up. Lastly, don't fill in the "to" field with the recipient's e-mail address
until you've finished writing and editing the cover letter and résumé. This prevents you from
accidentally sending off the message before it's ready.
For more expert advice on the job search, from résumés and cover letters to interviewing and
salary negotiation, go to The Vault Job Search Survival Center.