Ten Tips for Submitting Electronic Resumes

Five dos and five don'ts to keep in mind when sending your resume and cover letter via e-mail.

More and more, companies are asking job seekers to send in their resumes and cover letters via e-mail. Here are some things you should keep in mind when you're sending yours.

1. Don't include your resume as an attachment unless you include it in the e-mail's body, too. While many recruiters like to see the hard copy—after all, it's prettier—they won't look unless they like what they see in the e-mail version. Reading an attachment is an extra click, and many folks don't have time for it.

2. Do include your resume as part of an e-mail. Most recruiters spend their days working from their computers. Resumes reside somewhere on a network folder; that's where yours should be. If you send it in as a hard copy, you may get a call back—but it may get lost.

3. Don't write a one-line cover letter. What's the point? One line that says something like "I have most of the skills for the job" doesn't say anything about who you are, why you're applying, or what prompted you to apply at that particular business. Recruiters want some context for your resume. Provide it.

4. Do include a cover letter. Anybody who sends a resume without a cover letter gets an automatic ding in my book. That doesn't go for all hiring managers, but it goes for many. Why? Because no matter how great a resume is, if you're not saying why you applied and why you might like the job, you're not providing the proper context for understanding your resume. A hiring manager wants to know that you know what his or her company does and why you'd like to work there. Give that basic information in your letter.

5. Don't write a cover letter that's too long. People are busy. They don't have time to read about everything you've done. And if you go on and on, you increase your chances of showing exactly why you're not right for the job. One paragraph is fine. Two will suffice. Tell why you're applying at that particular company, what job you're applying for, and what you've done that shows you can do the job. That's all.

6. Do write well. Hiring managers want a letter that's well written, to the point, doesn't waste their time, and shows that the candidate can communicate effectively. Good, clear writing shows you're attentive to detail and can communicate, and those are critical skills in most open positions out there.

7. Don't forget to check out the website. If you don't know what the company does, then there's a red flag about why you'd ever in this lifetime want to work here. Hiring managers think: "If you don't know what we do, then why should I bother with you?" Remember point number five, though: Show you know what the company does, but don't belabor the point. Recruiters don't have time for it.

8. Do read the job posting. If you know what the job is, you can explain why you can do it and why you want it. Hiring managers want people who want the job and they want.