You have worked hard on your resume. Now you click send, and the recruiter never opens it. Why? Often the problem is not the resume. It is the email around it.
A recruiter receives hundreds of mails. He decides in seconds which to open. Let me share a few simple rules from my book to make sure yours gets read.
Follow the instructions exactly
This is rule number one. If the advertisement says to send your resume by post, send it by post, even if email is more convenient. If it says to email only, then do not send a hard copy. Employers have their reasons. If you go against them, your resume may not even reach the right department.
Follow every small instruction. If they ask for the job title or reference number on the envelope or in the subject line, put it there. Not following a directive will probably hurt your chances of an interview call.
Write a useful subject line
The subject line should tell the recruiter what the mail is about, before he opens it. Most advertisements give a job title and a job code. Put both in the subject.
The book gives examples like "Application for the post of Senior Software Engineer (Job code: SSE-22439)" and "Physics teacher (DPS-459)". If there is no code, write the name of the company and the post, like "Application for Financial Controller with BML Consultants".
Send one file, and name it well
Many students send three or four attachments. A cover letter here, a resume there, project details in a third. No recruiter is going to download them all. If he is short of time, he will open only the resume.
So put the cover letter, resume, references and project details in one file. Even if it comes to five pages, send one file.
Then look at the file name. "resume.doc", "bio-data.doc" and "res.doc" are what hundreds of others send. Give it a distinct name. The book suggests your name with the job code, like Sailaja-T6599. Today most people send PDF files, so the name will end in .pdf, but the logic is the same.
Put your email ID in the resume itself
Do not expect the employer to pick it up from the sender's address. Write it clearly in the body of the resume. Also write in the mail the name of the attached file and what it contains.
The cover letter
A cover letter turns your resume from a data sheet into a marketing tool. A personalised letter attracts attention. A standard one is often left unread.
- Mention the exact position, the job code in bold, where you saw the advertisement, and the date.
- Do not repeat what is in the resume. Introduce yourself, and say briefly why you can do the work well.
- Show how you can add value to the company.
- Say how you will follow up. The book advises waiting at least 5 to 7 days before calling.
- Thank the reader for his time.
Write the letter yourself. It shows the recruiter how well you express yourself. It also shows your confidence.
If you do not want to attach a separate letter, you can use the body of the email as a short cover letter. But if you attach one, say so in the mail. Otherwise the recruiter may think the two lines in the mail are your whole cover letter.
Test before you send
The book gives one more tip that I like. Before sending to an employer, mail it to a friend or to yourself. Look at how it appears at the other end. Check the formatting. Then check the spelling and grammar yourself, not just with the computer. A spell checker cannot correct the spelling of names.
Try this now
- Write the subject line for a job you want, with the job title and code.
- Rename your file with your name and the job.
- Write a cover letter of three short paragraphs. Why you are writing, why you suit the job, how you will follow up.
- Send the whole thing to yourself and open it on your phone.
Small things, but they decide whether a recruiter reads your resume or deletes it.
This is one chapter from my book Get That Dream Job.
