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Helpful Tips for Emailing Your Resumé
As the Internet becomes increasingly important in the job-hunting process, it is becoming the expected thing that you will post your profile and resumé on a job search web site such as monster.com or hotjobs.com. These specialized search engines allow you to upload your resumé in a Microsoft Word or text file format or create one using their forms. They also allow your resumé to be seen by hundreds or even thousands of potential employers, including some you might never have discovered by the old methods of searching through want ads or other sources for information on job openings.
E-mailing your resumé as form of application is no longer just confined to the job search websites. Many employers and headhunters are happy to receive electronic submissions of resumés as a form of applications. However, each employer or headhunter has different rules on the types of file they will accept via e-mail. Most companies will accept an attachment in Microsoft Word, which means you need to be conscious of the font type and size, as well as margins you are using when composing your resumé. If a company is requesting a text file, you should follow these steps to convert your Microsoft Word document into a text resume:
- Select File, Save As
- Name the file; as a best practice, use your name as the file name, and use underscores as spaces
- Under Format, select Text Only
- Select Save.
Once you have successfully converted your file to a text file, make sure to open it and review how the spaces, tabs, and bullet points have transferred over. You may need to do some edits to ensure that the elements of your resumé line up in an attractive way that makes it easy for the reader to identify key information. Because the plain text file doesn't allow for bolding, italicizing or underlining, you will need to use white space to make key elements stand out. Make sure that all your text is left justified and that the spacing is correct.
If an employer asks that you include your resumé in the body of an email, treat this as a text file when formatting. Copy and paste your entire resumé in an email. Keep the font styles basic; use Arial or Times New Roman fonts and keep the size at 10 or 12 points. Adjust all the spacing and bullet points as appropriate to make sure everything lines up in a way that is pleasing to the eye. Keep everything simple -- since you can't know the type of email software your recipient is using or whether it accept HTML or text emails only, avoid using bold, italic or other type styles that may be lost.
If you are sending your resumé as an attachment, format the body of your email as a cover letter. At the top of the email, include your name and address, as well as the address of your recipient. Typically, the address can be found either on the job listing or at the company's web site. If you are sending the resumé in the body of the email, follow the same guidelines -- preface the resumé with the information you would put in a cover letter. Don't assume that if an employer wants the resumé in the body of the e-mail, they do not want a cover letter to accompany it. You still need to give your employer more information than is included in the resumé. However, since the cover-letter part of your e-mail will include your address, you are welcome to start your resume with your career objective instead of including the heading with your name and address.
Just as proofing is critical in perfecting your printed resumé, it is important to test how your resumé is displayed in a body of an email or how it opens as an attachment via another computer. Enlist your friends or family to receive sample emails with your resume included in the body of the message or as an attachment. Make sure all of them receive it and it opens correctly, without mangled formatting or other problems that will detract from the impression of a competent potential employee. By testing in this manner, you can ensure that your resumé is reaching your potential employers in a format that is clean and professional.
By following these guidelines, you will be able to reach and impress potential employers without having to spend a fortune on postage and envelopes.
