Applying for work by email

Applying by email involves sending the company an email message and attaching an electronic copy of your CV.  Here are some hints on how to get it right and an example of an email to an employer.

Hints and tips

• This is a business email, so write it in the same formal way as you would a letter.
• Don’t use an embarrassing email address – ‘heidbanger@…’.
• Ideally your email address should incorporates your name, so that the employer can link it with your application.
• Make sure you know exactly what the employer wants to receive by email. For example, is it your CV, your CV and a covering letter, or a letter of application?
• Check if the employer’s mail system accepts attachments. If they don’t, you might have to put the text of your CV into the body of the email itself.
• Send your CV as a separate attachment – as a Word document.
• Don’t attempt to copy and paste your CV into the body of the email unless the employer asks you to – the layout of the text seldom survives and your CV might arrive looking like a jumbled mess.
• Remember to check that you have attached your CV before you click ‘send’. It’s very easy to forget! 

The email message

In most cases, the email message acts almost like a covering letter (see the article on writing a covering letter). However, it should be a little shorter, just three or four short paragraphs. Each paragraph should include only one or two sentences.

The main aim of the message is to persuade the employer that your CV is worth looking at more closely. 

Addressing the email

To…      john.thomson@sjs.co.uk

• Double check the email address – even a small mistake can stop your email getting to the right person.

Subject:  Amy McDonald: Application for Clerical Assistant Post (Reference No. E1276)

• Say what you are applying for, if the vacancy has a reference number add it. Also give your name. The example we’ve given says exactly what the employer need to know.

Example text

• Don’t put your address at the top of the email – this is the main difference between an email and a letter (your address and contact details go at the end).