The Proper Greetings Email Cover Letters
Not all of the time-tested rules for writing a cover letter and resume apply when it comes to the fairly new practice of emailing employers to apply for a job. While the content and writing style of your cover letter must be just as strong regardless of how you send it, the format, greetings and other elements differ from the printed versions. If you are emailing your cover letter, it is important to know the proper business protocol.
Other People Are Reading
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Subject Line
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The subject line is the first thing an employer will see. It may also determine whether the recipient reads the email at all, of it it gets filtered as spam. If the company provides instructions, you may need to include a job posting number and your last name. If there are no instructions, create a subject that briefly explains who you are and what job you are applying for, such as "Accounting graduate seeks financial analyst position."
Salutation
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Greet the employer by name, immediately, on the first line of the email message with the formal salutation "Dear Mr. Fisher." Unlike a printed cover letter, you should not type the employer's name, title, company name and address, nor a header with your own contact information at the top.
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Format
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The email cover letter should be plain text only; do not paste in rich text or colors, as they may not convert properly. The letter should be single spaced with a double-space between paragraphs and no indentations. End with a formal closing, such as "Sincerely."
Contact Information
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Type your name after a double-space beneath the closing, followed by your address, phone number and professional email address as a single-spaced block. This is the information you would typically include as a header at the top of a printed cover letter.
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References
- Photo Credit email button showing @ ampersand for letters image by Peter Baxter from Fotolia.com
