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With the increase in online resume submissions, it’s important to keep in mind that the reader on the other end is most likely the hiring manager and/or Human Resources representative. That means you must maintain a level of professionalism even if you think it’s just a casual submission. First off, no submission should ever be casual when it deals with a potential employer. Too many times I’ve seen people get “cozy” too soon in the process. Nine times out of ten, your competition is handling his or her business with the utmost professionalism and respect. They know that every correspondence be it email or phone will be on the record. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when submitting your resume to a potential employer.
Keep it simple
Keep your emails as short and to the point as possible. I have had job seekers submit me a whole paragraph about who they are, what they are currently doing, what they want to do, etc. No matter the case, everyone is busy and do not have the time to read about your whole life’s work. Your best bet is to send an email that highlights your ability to be able to do the job you are applying for. In most cases, I suggest bolding a few lines of the job description and have a line of dialogue about how you fit each duty.
Use some HTML
Use HTML to take advantage of tracking, but keep it simple. HTML is a good way to spruce up your email but does not make it overly fancy. A client of mine once submitted too many advertised banners and even a jumping smiley face. Needless to say, the employer was not impressed. Keep it simple!
Set up a website
Intrigue your reader with the email message and get them to find out more by clicking your resume website. A good idea is to create a website that boasts your accomplishments, highlights your projects, and showcases your resume. I once created a website to do just that and the employer told me during the interview that I was solely brought in to the interview based on the website I created and thus plugged into my initial email.
Get to the point
Spend most of the time on the top three inches of the email, because it is what people see if they are using “preview” in Outlook. Most of the time a potential employer might not even open the entire email so make the introductory portion of your email count the most. A hiring manager I dealt with at Goodrich actually preferred to just review a job seeker’s email to see how the person handled basic typing skills. He felt that he wanted sharp employers so a sharp employee would be able to handle basic spelling and structure skills. The catch? He never read an entire email though. He only looked at the top 3-4 sentences before deciding if he wanted to even look at the resume.
Ask for a forward
Ask them to forward the email to other people who may be looking for your skills. This may be the boldest move you can do because not many people like to be told what to do. And from a complete stranger nonetheless. But, a client of mine included this blurb in every email she sent out and she said about 25% of her interviews were coming from employers who had received her resume from a forwarded email.
Use an effective subject line
It must reflect the contents of the email, but you also want to make it stand out. This is your first impression! Every client I’ve ever had always asked me about the subject line. It seems to be the scariest part of any resume submission. However, hiring managers wish for some sort of organization when opening their email every morning, so help them out. Make it easy and known that you are a job seeker and you are applying to a specific job. Do NOT capitalize the entire subject either. A hiring manager of mine hated when candidates either capitalized the entire subject line or used exclamation points. Hiring managers have pet peeves too.
Don’t sent spam
Do not send an email that looks like spam (i.e., you would just delete it unread). Simple and straightforward. Always use both first and last names in the “from” line. Most people assume email from a first name only is spam. A hiring manager of mine never opened emails unless it came from a “whole person” he would say. He had been burnt too many times by opening faulty emails and decided to live by this rule of thumb.
No attachments
Smart email users do not open attachments from people they do not know, for fear of viruses. If a hiring manager or recruiter asks you to send them your resume, then go ahead and do so. However a good idea is to copy and paste the resume into the body of the email, so long as it maintains an organized look. A hiring manager of mine said he never opened an attachment unless it was from inter-office. It goes to show you that times have changed and vulnerability has increased awareness to protect your data.