A job application email or a cover letter is a message you write to your potential employer when applying for a job. Usually, the employer posts a message about an open position on a recruiting resource, on a company website or on social media. Then the potential employees send the employer their resumes attached to the job application letter, where they tell the hiring company about their experience and expectations.
Simply write a new message from your mailbox and attach the resume to it.
Make sure your email address is appropriate and makes you look professional. The most common format is the first and the second names before “@” or any combination of those.
Check your grammar and layout to make sure your cover letter is easy to read.
When you are ready to go, don’t forget to attach the resume to your email.
It also might be a good idea to send a test email to your email address to check everything for the last time and test the final layout.
There are certain rules for any cover letter. Let’s browse those to learn to write a good job application letter that will make a great first impression and will let you proceed to the job interview.
Hiring managers receive dozens of job application emails daily. Value their time and focus: write a short and clear subject of your message to let them see what role you apply for.
The hiring company sometimes simply asks to use a certain subject line: they write it in the job ad. In this case, it is very important to follow the instructions strictly so that your email is not lost when the hiring manager browses candidates for a certain role.
If the subject line is not specified, just use the name of the position as a subject and your first and second names.
Your email greeting sets the tone of voice of your email. Usually, the job application email salutations are formal, but there may be some exceptions, for example, if the tone of voice of the job ad is extremely informal and it’s obvious that the hiring company appreciates the same.
Make the salutation brief and try to focus on what’s important for the employer right in the first lines. For example, if the job ad says you should have fluent written German, you can introduce yourself as a copywriter in German with dozens of publications, even though it is one of the four languages you speak.
Trying to tell every little thing about your career and describe every irrelevant achievement shows a lack of self-confidence and professional manners. Focus on the job ad and describe yourself as a perfect employee for the exact role by specifying how you match every employer’s expectation.
Show that you are result-oriented. If the employer asks you to describe your experience in social media management, present the task and the result in figures. Avoid long process descriptions: save those for the job interview.
Your resume must include your past job positions, the tasks you completed and the best achievements you earned.
Your resume should be brief, even if you have 30 years of experience. If so, it might be a good idea to merge several projects into one big point and give an overall description of what were your tasks during that period.
It might be great to add references from your past jobs to the resume, so that the hiring manager could contact your previous employers and get their opinion about working with you.
Same as with the cover letter, the spelling and layout should be fine. Send a copy of your resume to several people you trust to have a look at it and give you some recommendations. It is even better if you can contact a career consultant who will give you recommendations on your professional presentation, focus on what’s most important in terms of the role you are applying for and even will help you get ready for the job interview.
If your resume is focused on your job positions, your portfolio should be focused on results. These are the measurable results of your work, something you can show to make one understand what kind of a professional you are. Those could be articles, if you are a copywriter or editor, websites or apps if you are into development and your best pieces if you are a designer.
If you are in sales, project management or human resource or other areas where the results can not be presented by a specific product, create presentations of your project with specific results to show what tasks did you get and how you accomplished those.
The key to writing a successful job application email that will result in a job interview is focusing on the demands listed in the job ad. This is exactly the case where little things mean a lot. No matter what a good fit you are, being unable to follow simple instructions will never work for your benefit.
Following the job ad’s logic will also help you present yourself as a perfect fit for the position. If the hiring company claims to be looking for a passionate manager who is seeking an opportunity to take their career to a new level, describe why you like the position and what growth opportunities interest you the most. Take a list of demands from the job ad and write the relevant list of your skills and experiences. You will save the hiring manager’s time and shorten your road to the job interview.
Another good tip is to focus on the value you can bring to the company and describe your professional experience from this point. Keeping that in mind will help you write a more relevant job application email that will not look boastful but instead will present you as a thoughtful result-oriented player.
Let’s check some examples of the best cover letters and figure out why the hiring company would like them.
The potential employee who wrote this job application email does not have any experience in public relations. Still, they apply for a Public Relations manager position and explain why their experience is a good fit.
The prospect focuses on being aware of the product already and presents a relevant case from their professional biography. The willingness to transfer to public relations also promises high motivation and interest in the new field.
This job application email is brief, contains all the contact information needed and a link to the LinkedIn profile. The layout looks professional and makes it easy to follow.
Let’s check another good example. This is a business manager cover letter:
This cover letter is a great example of how to make an impressive presentation of your achievements without being boastful.
It’s clear that the candidate is a very strong manager, but the description of their professional experience is very brief and relevant for the position demands. They focus on the value they can bring to the hiring company as a professional which gives them great chances to get to the job interview.
A good cover letter raises your chances for the job interview and creates a great first impression. Not only does it present your professional background, but also shows that you are a thoughtful, attentive and focused team player. Take your time to work on the job application interview that will make you look as a perfect fit for the position demanded and it will become the great first step in your relationship with new coworkers.
Keep in mind these tips for writing a good cover letter:
