Job Application by Email

Dee123_2

Never been too sure of this.....

I am applying for a job by email and they have asked for a covering letter. Normally I would put some blurb about myself and my application in the body of the email but as they specifically ask for a letter I have created a standard letter.

Is there any etiquette regarding what you should then put in the body of the email? Apart from maybe "Please find my application for...." and "please contact me if there are any problems receiving the files"?

Dee

zodiac

After attaching my CV and CL I normally put:

Please find my application for.... and CV attached, if there are any problems please get in contact with me and I look forward to meeting you at interview (or audition in my case )

Good luck with whatever your doing/applying for

Pennywise

Have they said they want you to apply by email? Can you not apply by post instead? I don't accept applications by email and I insist on a hand-written covering letter - not least to make sure that their hand-writing is legible, but also to see how they go on without the benefit of spell-checkers, grammar checkers and pre-formatted letters.

Dee123_2

Hi Pennywise

I could have done it by post if I'd had enough time by the deadline. It's also an internet technology company so they won't mind either way.

Also, the advert gave the email address which goes direct to a particular person in Human Resources - as I was advised to state my salary expectation I would prefer this than my letter through the mail being opened by the receptionist.

I know what you mean though. I do wish phone texting wasn't creeping into everyday spelling.

Dee

PS I sent it 11am this morning and I just got asked to attend an interview on Thurs.

starlite_2

Wow - impressive..well done!
Before i read all this thread I was going to post about my boyfriends experience of applying by email. A few months ago he sent off between 10 and 15 applications every day for a few weeks and never heard a thing back. As soon as he started sending cvs etc by post he had four interview offers within a week.
My friend works in hr and he says they rarely even look at the email applications..only if they haven't recieved enough, or the right appliicatipns by post.
Quite surprising as you'd imagine email would be an easier way for them.

lilrowan

Dee123 wrote:

Never been too sure of this.....


Is there any etiquette regarding what you should then put in the body of the email?

Dee

Try guardian.co.uk then use the link for 'jobs', then there is a link for careers advice. Here it tells you all kinds of jobseeking advice from letters to psychometric tests and interviews etc. Also prospects.ac.uk has info on covering letters.

filigree_2

Ooh, I know this one - I just started work in HR dealing mostly with recruitment. I second the others, just say "please find my application form and covering letter attached".

This is the first time I've worked with applications by email, and one problem that crops up a lot is that the forms lose their formatting. The page breaks are all out of kilter and a three page form becomes seven pages, some with only one line or the page number. I advise that anyone applying via email should use Print Preview before they save the document, just to check the layout is OK.

Good luck at the interview

Savvy_Sue

filigree wrote:

This is the first time I've worked with applications by email, and one problem that crops up a lot is that the forms lose their formatting. The page breaks are all out of kilter and a three page form becomes seven pages, some with only one line or the page number. I advise that anyone applying via email should use Print Preview before they save the document, just to check the layout is OK.

Although sometimes that's a problem with computers just not printing things the same ... but if it's a 'standard' application form you fill in electronically and send back via email it can be a right pain in the neck to get it right! However, well worth checking it as filigree says!

gingerdad

filigree wrote:

Ooh, I know this one - I just started work in HR dealing mostly with recruitment. I second the others, just say "please find my application form and covering letter attached".

This is the first time I've worked with applications by email, and one problem that crops up a lot is that the forms lose their formatting. The page breaks are all out of kilter and a three page form becomes seven pages, some with only one line or the page number. I advise that anyone applying via email should use Print Preview before they save the document, just to check the layout is OK.

Good luck at the interview

It's best to sent the application or letter either as a .txt or .pdf file as word and others can be a nightmare on different pc's, margins are differnt on most machines.

i have had my last 4 jobs via e-mail and websites, i always treat the e-mail as i would my covering letter.

most of my jobs have been through agencys though ( always seem to do better with interviews than if applying directly)