Emailing a Cover Letter: How To Guide With Example

Here is a step-by-step guide for emailing a cover letter:

1. Adhere to the employer’s instructions

When you are sending a cover letter via email, it is important to read the employer’s instructions carefully and follow them correctly. Some companies may require you to send the cover letter as the email body, while others may want it as an attachment. If the company wants an attachment, it may specify to format the document as a PDF file or other specific file type.

Following the exact format an employer wants for our cover letter submission will ensure that the employer receives your cover letter so you are more likely to proceed to the next stage of the hiring process. Otherwise, your cover letter may land in the trash or spam folder or even get bounced off automatically.

Learn more: How to Write a Cover Letter

2. Send via a professional email address

It is important to use a professional email address when emailing your cover letter. A professional email address will comprise your first and last name. For example, it could be andrewdennis@email.com, andrew.dennis@email.com or another combination of your names. Email addresses made up of your nickname, other words, or a combination of figures and letters and your names are less professional.

3. Use an appropriate subject line

When sending a cover letter by email, it is important for the receiver to know that the message contains your cover letter, the position you are applying for, and your name. The subject line must contain information about the email’s content and your name to increase the chances that the hiring manager will read the email.

For best results, structure your subject line to include the job title and your full name. For example, ‘Cover Letter | Your name | Job title’ or ‘Cover Letter: Your name for job title.’

Some employers may also require additional information, such as a unique code given to you at the beginning of the hiring process. Include the most relevant information in your subject line to make it easy for the recipient to read your cover letter.

Learn more: How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? (With Tips)

4. Save your cover letter correctly

If the employer wants you to send the cover letter as an attachment, is important to save it in the correct format. Otherwise, save as a PDF file to ensure that the recipient can view the cover letter in the exact format you wrote it.

Save the file in your name, for example, Brain David Cover Letter. This will make it easy for the hiring manager to identify your email and read your cover letter.

5. Attach your cover letter to the email correctly

To attach a file to an email, start by creating a new email message in your email program. Next, select the paperclip icon in the toolbar part of the email box. This will take you to your device’s quick access ribbon, where you can select your cover letter from the appropriate file folder. Click on your cover letter to attach it to the email. Check that the file attaches correctly before sending.

6. Write a short email message

If you are sending your cover letter as an attachment in an email, include a brief email message to let the recipient know that the email contains your cover letter as an attachment. If you don’t include an email message, the hiring manager may not know the purpose of the email. You don’t have to do this if the email message is the cover letter. Below is an example of a brief message to include when emailing a cover letter:

Subject: Cover Letter: John Tyler for Marketing Manager

I’m writing to apply for the Marketing Manager position at RayThorpe Corporations. I have attached copies of my cover letter and resume to this email.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Thank you for considering me for this position.

Sincerely,

John Tyler

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Amazing Email

7. Send your cover letter as the email body

When a company does not specify how to send your cover letter or does not accept it as an attachment, you can send it as a body of the email. That means the recipient sees your cover letter the moment they open your email, which can be more efficient because they don’t have to download an attachment to view it, and the risk of errors is minimal.

To send your cover letter as the email body, copy and paste it from a word processor program into your email program or type it into the box directly. However, remove the date and contact details from the cover letter since you’re going to include a subject line and the program will generate a date automatically. It is okay to use the default font and styling of your email program, but make sure the text is legible and professional before sending.

If you are sending your cover letter as a body of an email, include a proper email signature at the end of the text. An email signature should include your first and last names, your email address, and telephone number. To include an email signature to your message, click on File, Insert, Signature. This will only work if you have saved the signature beforehand. Otherwise, you can type your email signature at the bottom of the message. Including an email signature makes it easy for the hiring manager to contact you later.

Here is an example of what an email signature looks like:

First name Last name

Email address

Phone number

8. Send a test email to yourself

Before emailing your cover letter to a recruiter or hiring manager, send yourself a test email to ensure your attachments work properly. When you receive the email, download the attachment and open it to be sure it will work when you send it to the recipient. Sending yourself a test email also gives you the opportunity to check for errors one last time before sending.

Learn more: Discover if you have a fair job offer. See how your offer compares to other pay packages and if you need to negotiate.

Here is an example of a cover letter you can send as an email.

Subject line: Mary Harcourt Cover Letter | Sales Manager

Dear Ms. Pritchard,

I’m writing to apply for the sales manager position at The Bruges Place. I have over five years’ sales experience, three of which were spent managing a 70-person regional sales team. In the last year, I led my team to break a company record by generating $245 million dollars from two product lines, representing an unprecedented 25% growth year over year.

I have also helped train over 50 sales employees and created an in-house training program to help our teams master cold calling and negotiation, increasing their deal closing rate by over 15% in the last two years. These experiences and achievements have prepared me adequately for the Sales Manager role at your company.

At my current position at ClearVise Market Dynamics, I am responsible for creating and implementing the company’s sales strategy. I collaborate with the heads of marketing, product design, logistics, and human resources. Based on my recommendations, the company created a digital sales and marketing unit. I helped recruit and design the unit’s guidelines and continue to set key performance indicators and measure their success against the company’s sales and promotional goals.

As much as I love management, I’m also a hands-on person. I work directly with customers to identify how we can best serve them. I spearheaded a data-driven customer relations strategy that helps us track customer loyalty and monitor their pulse, allowing the company to resolve issues before they become serious problems. As your company’s sales manager, I will bring to bear my exceptional market insights and deep understanding of the customer demographic to increase sales, enhance customer loyalty, and boost company revenues.

Thank you for considering my application for this position.

Sincerely,

Mary Harcourt

maryharcourt@email.com

+99 445 8876