How to Send a Cover Letter and Resume via Email

An email cover letter is basically a cover letter that is sent out to a prospective employer via email. Like the standard cover letter, it also provides a summary of the contents of your resume and how suitable you are for the job you are applying for.

When you're asked to email your job application to a company, you can either copy and paste your cover letter into the body of your email, or you can attach it as a file, along with your resume.

This article will guide you through the right way to send your cover letter and resume via email.

How to Email Your Cover Letter and CV

Sending your Cover letter and CV as an email attachment

Sending your Cover letter in the email body

If the employer does not specify how to send your cover letter—it’s best to simply copy and paste your cover letter into the body of the email. This way, the hiring manager will see your cover letter as soon as they open your email, instead of having to download an attachment to view it.

Once you’ve pasted your cover letter into the email body, remove the date and contact information of from the top left-hand and right-hand corner. Double check that your email displays properly since sometimes copying and pasting content from a Word or PDF document can skew email formatting. Use the default font and styling of your email program.

Finally, attach your CV to the mail and send.

Email Cover Letter Example

More Tips for Sending Email Cover Letters & CVs

1. Always stick to the company’s job application guidelines. Send your job applications as instructed.
2. Use straightforward and informative subject line for your emails. It immediately tells the recipient the Intent of the mail and increases the chances that the recruiter or hiring manager will open your email. Since employers may be hiring for several positions, it’s important that they can immediately identify which role you’re applying for before they open the email. For example:  "Application for the position of Business Development Officer". There isn't a concrete formula for email subjects lines though. Some job advertisements have specific guidelines on how to put the subject line. Some may require you to mention only the job posting ID when you apply. For Example: "#5527".
   
3. Avoid using nicknames as part of your email address. Eg: [email protected]. Instead use a professional email address made up of your first and last name: [email protected].
4. If the job posting says to include your cover letter and resume as an attachment, you can easily save your documents as Word or PDF files. PDFs are more professional, they retain the format, and they cannot be edited by someone else after you’ve shared them. .
5. Change the file name to First Name-Last Name-Cover-Letter (e.g. Ed-Smith-Cover-Letter.doc) to make it easier for the hiring manager to identify your cover letter once they’ve downloaded it from the email.
6. Don’t forget to add a proper email signature to close your email and make it easy for the hiring manager to get in touch with you.
7. Before you click send, make sure your attachments are working properly by sending yourself a test message. Download the attachment from your test email to ensure it’s the correct file, and double check your spelling, grammar, and formatting before sending your final cover letter email to the hiring manager.