Cover Letter Submitted Electronically

The Career Doctor responds:

Tom, you’ve come to the right place, because my partner (Katharine Hansen) and I consider ourselves — most especially — cover letter experts. In her book, Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates, Kathy states, in part: “brevity is particularly important. For some readers, a screen of email seems equivalent to a page of type…” She goes on to list the guidelines for posting your resume on the Internet.

The keys for cover letters sent via email are:

• keep it brief; even shorter than a standard cover letter;
• know the company guidelines, which can usually be found on each company’s Website;
• use limited formatting so that the letters can be more easily scanned (and because not all people have email software that allows stylized text);
• make good use of keywords in your cover letter;
• as always, proofread and edit your work, making sure there are no errors of any kind.