Applying for a job by email

RobertoMoir

jadziad wrote: »

Ideally you should ALWAYS deliver your CV in person - say your name & shake hands. This WILL make you stand out from the huge pile of crap which they get by email.

I strongly urge you to consider this carefully. I'm sure there are jobs where this would help, but where I work right now you'd stand out as the person who dragged whoever's name you asked for off the building site for our new college campus for no good reason. When it can take a good 20 or 30 mins to get from there to reception in our current campus, and the same to go back again that's not the sort of memory you may want to generate.

Savvy_Sue

I have to say that the more contact we have with applicants before shortlisting, the less we tend to like them. Sure, we remember them, but not always in a GOOD way ...

Premier_2

Wine_of_the_World wrote: »

Just a quick question.

When making an application for a job to an email address should I attach the cover letter as a separate document, or write the cover letter in the email?

I have been writing the cover letter in the email, showing how I meet the selection criteria and highlighting my strengths but I am wondering if this will be discarded and that I should attached a letter.

I have just seen a great job - saying send a CV to xyz email address - nothing about a cover letter. I think this is a HR address - so was wondering if the email would be passed on to the relevent department or not.

Thanks!!

Contrary to other advice, I would always take the opportunity to sell myself to the employer.

This means giving brief details of how your skills & experience (as detailed in your CV) matches the requirements of the specific job being applied for; I would also explain away any obvious shortcomings that would otherwise cast my CV alone into the reject pile. I would also take the opportunity to state when I would I would be available for interview and even how much notice I would require to give to my existing employer in order to take up the position I'm now applying for and keen to secure.

Why? Well I currently interview others and this is something that I like to see as it (a) shows me the applicant is keen, (b) has taken the time & effort to tailor their request to the position open (as opposed to mass mailing the same to anyone & everyone) and (c) directs me towards their key skills & experience for the position. It also informs me of their availability and whether or not arrangements can be made to accommodate those.

Try to find out more about the position and company set up. That should inform you whether a copy of the email (as opposed to just the cv) will end up on the actual recruiter's desk. If it doesn't, there's no guarantee a separate attached letter would either.
So usually such information within the email is sufficient as the person you are sending it to (perhaps a member of HR) will often be used as a first line of filtering applications.

Hopefully that person will read the email and see for themselves why the company should hire you, rather than dismiss your personalised application for not following rules.

Again, finding out more about the company will help you decide on the best approach, but if you are discovering it is an employer that puts more emphasis on rules being strictly and unquestionably applied (and they are not the army), rather than taking the time & effort in understanding & providing what would be the best approach to a task, may make you think twice about actually applying for a position at the company in the first instance.

RobertoMoir

Premier wrote: »

Hopefully that person will read the email and see for themselves why the company should hire you, rather than dismiss your personalised application for not following rules.

Again, finding out more about the company will help you decide on the best approach, but if you are discovering it is an employer that puts more emphasis on rules being strictly and unquestionably applied (and they are not the army), rather than taking the time & effort in understanding & providing what would be the best approach to a task, may make you think twice about actually applying for a position at the company in the first instance.

I agree with the broad details of your reply but where you talk about following the rules, one area where it is very important to follow the rules is public sector. We're required to have rules and we're required to follow them. If you decide you don't want to work in that kind of environment that is fine, but if you do then sometimes it is important that you do things the way you are asked to.

terra_ferma

Wine_of_the_World wrote: »

Just a quick question.

When making an application for a job to an email address should I attach the cover letter as a separate document, or write the cover letter in the email?

I have been writing the cover letter in the email, showing how I meet the selection criteria and highlighting my strengths but I am wondering if this will be discarded and that I should attached a letter.

I have just seen a great job - saying send a CV to xyz email address - nothing about a cover letter. I think this is a HR address - so was wondering if the email would be passed on to the relevent department or not.

Thanks!!

Personally I would write a covering letter regardless. It may be a waste of time, but it's still a good opportunity to get them to know more about you (and perhaps stand out if nobody else has bothered).

However they may think you are someone who wastes their time doing things that are not required.

Probably even better, would you be able to ask?
It does not sound like an unreasonable question, just make sure that you don't sound like you are implying they gave unclear instructions. You could ask if they would accept a covering letter.

In any case good luck!

Wine_of_the_World

I know my grammar is far from perfect - but I do read - print out and re-read - and double check my CV before sending.
If I use bullet points should each one start with a capital letter and end in a full stop – or not? I think it should but it’s better to ask!

Savvy_Sue

Wine_of_the_World wrote: »

I know my grammar is far from perfect - but I do read - print out and re-read - and double check my CV before sending.
If I use bullet points should each one start with a capital letter and end in a full stop – or not? I think it should but it’s better to ask!

Personally, I don't think it matters which you do as long as you are consistent! And I sometimes tie myself in knots making sure that each one reads smoothly from the initial point, eg

I have experience of using

• Sage
• Word
• Excel
• Access

is fine (although I wouldn't necessarily bullet them!), but

In this role I was responsible for introducing

• revised procedures for payroll
• writing and implementing the company's policy on charitable donations

In that second example you'd need to move 'introducing' into the bullet.

They're not great examples, but my brain is packing up on me ...

I hope you didn't mind me explaining about 'criteria', btw. I tend to limit my comments on spelling and grammar to jobseeking threads, and I realise that it might have been a typo which wouldn't have got through your proofreading in a 'real' cv. But since I didn't know, it seemed worth pointing it out!

My use of spelling and grammar is fairly instinctive: emails and text messages (and forum posts!) are written in full, with capital letters and full punctuation, because I just can't do it any other way! Doesn't mean I don't make mistakes, and sometimes I leave them when I DO spot them, but it does mean I have a head start over those who habitually use txtspk when I have to write formally.

Wine_of_the_World

Thanks

No - I didn’t mind at all. In fact I found it helpful. There are so many grammatical errors I have always made because I didn’t know were wrong (like writing comprises of). I don’t think I was actually taught grammar very well in school at all!

Savvy_Sue

I didn't notice when I first posted, but my first list went wrong. I've fixed it now.