Applying for work: by email

Sending applications by email is now one of the most common ways of applying for work. It usually involves sending the company an email message and attaching an electronic copy of your CV.

Here are a few basic rules that will help you help you get it right.

• This is a business email, so write it in the same formal way as you would a letter. You’d usually write email messages in a more casual way, but not in this case.
• Don’t use an embarrassing email address – ‘heidbanger@…’ might seem funny, but you might as well use ‘immature@...’
• Use an email address that 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.
• Opinion on this varies, but we recommend that you 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 – it’s highly likely that, once you send it, the layout or format won’t survive the journey and it will 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 section 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).