Quote:
Originally Posted by VAviator
Thanks for the responses.
Rick, I like your idea of pasting the "meat" into the email. I'm thinking maybe it couldn't hurt to do both (pasting and attaching) when you don't know who will be reading it on the other end.
Short and sweet is definitely the best way to go, I agree. My resume just looks a bit strange right now with over two years without employment (traveling and then injured overseas). I'd like to mention something about it in the cover letter just to give them a heads up.
How about abbreviating your work history on the resume? I've pared my down to just flying jobs with a note at the bottom that a full work history is available on request. Anyone doing something similar or have other ideas?
If they ask you to submit your resume as an attachment then my advice is to attach a
separate cover letter as well. Some people will put the cover letter as part of the resume attachment (one long attachment) - this is a pain for the recuiter. Let them choose whether or not they want to print your cover letter.
I agree with Rick about pasting the letter in the body of the email - it certainly can't hurt and they also have the choice of printing the nicely formatted version.
DO NOT summarize your resume in the cover letter or in the body of the email. You want them to read your resume, don't you? Focus on the stuff you can't put in your resume and what you really want them to know - i.e., why you were out of work for two years. Keep it VERY, VERY short. Recruiters don't have much time to read a resume, let alone a cover letter. Many times they go completely unread - especially if they are long. (How many times do you delete a long, drawn out joke that you receive in email simply because it's takes too much time?)
Why are you abbreviating your work history? Remember, your resume is NOT a legal document - rule of thumb is you only have to provide five years of employment history. Don't leave them wondering about you - write out the last five years of your history. Personally, whenever I saw "more provided upon request" or "more provided at interview" it came across cocky. I didn't request you apply with me at all, but here I am reading YOUR REQUEST to be considered and you can't even provide me with all information?
This is just how it hit me, others may not have the same reaction but I'd suggest it better to be safe than sorry.
Don't analyze this too terribly much - the important part is that you SEND IT.
Good luck! Crossing my fingers for a callback!
Lori