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Job Search E-mail Basics
Depending on email to send your resume to a potential employer is only a bit less risky than playing roulette with it.
Email is not a reliable method of reaching someone.
Email was a differentiator at first (mid 90's). When you emailed your resume, you stood out from the crowd as "net savvy." By the late 90's, email became the "standard" way to reach someone.
Now, email is largely a nuisance unless someone is expecting a message from you.
So, what should you do?
1. Follow the employer's directions, if any are given.
If they specify a "receiving" address on the job posting or the Website, send your resume to that address. If they have specified what goes into the subject line of the message (like the job posting number), be sure to do that, too.
Demonstrate that you can follow directions in a job by following directions in your application for that job.
This isn't limiting your ability to do some "guerilla marketing" in addition to the following-the-rules process to help you stand out from the crowd. However, it is demonstrating that you are capable of following directions and have some respect for their processes. So follow the directions and also use your other approaches, if appropriate. (See #7 for another idea)
2. Don't use your current work e-mail address for sending your resume to a new employer.
This is a very good way to become unemployed (most employers monitor email traffic, so they'll see that resume go out)!
Using your employer's email system doesn't show a new employer that you are very loyal or respectful of your current employer which doesn't make you a very appealing applicant.
3. Send a separate message to each potential employer. Even though it may be easy to do, don't do mass emailing.
Messages with multiple addressees are a sure way to trip a spam filter's alarm and very bad 'netiquette to boot. If you're not careful, it can reveal all the other employers you are courting and demonstrate that you are not willing to spend much effort on any of the employers listed.
In addition, a cookie-cutter message will not be focused on that specific opportunity (the requirements of the job, the employer's situation, etc.). So, it may not get through, and if it does get through, it won't be effective.
4. If possible, send your email on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The weekends, Mondays, Fridays, and late Thursdays are typically times with a high volume of spam, and your message may get lost in the junk.
5. Copy the plain text version of your resume into the body of your email.
Unless directions from the employer specify otherwise, this is the safest way to send a resume via email. You need to copy the plain text version of your resume - not the Word (or other word processing software) document. See Job-Hunt's "Converting a Word Resume into ASCII Text" article for step-by-step directions.
6. Look for alternative ways to reach people.
Use the Internet to research the employer, and then follow up offline.
For example, if you want to work in the sales department of a company, find the VP of Sales on the company Website, and then call the company to verify that the person is still there and still VP of Sales.
Once you know the name of the person in that key position, send a "beautiful resume" (Joyce Lain Kennedy's term from her latest Resumes for Dummies book) via snail mail - NOT email. Your "beautiful resume" is the one in word processing format, with bullets and bolding and a fancy layout - designed to showcase you and your capabilities.
© Copyright, 1998 - 2013, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.
About the author...
Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, NETability purchased Job-Hunt.org, which Susan has edited and published since. Susan also edits and publishes WorkCoachCafe.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at@jobhuntorg and on Google+.
