Applying for jobs via email

Crania

I'm applying for a number of spring and summer vacation schemes with legal firms in Dublin and London. My applications are via email. My question is, when there is no instruction by the firm, should your cover letter and CV be attached to the email or actually in the body of the email itself?

I have always attached both CV and cover letter with just a very small message in the email about what I am applying for and that relevant documents are to be found attached. But someone told me recently that you should not attach documents like that and everything should be in the body of the message instead.

Help would be appreciated. Thanks.

egennery

I would use the email as my cover letter and attach a very targetted c.v. Employers spend very little time reading cover letters or c.v.s so make sure both are succinct and highly relevant to the particular employer.

good luck.
Elaine

Eoin

Yeah, I'd also consider the body of the email to be the cover letter.

Crania wrote:

But someone told me recently that you should not attach documents like that and everything should be in the body of the message instead.

Personally I wouldn't embed the CV itself into the body of the email.

Malice

Crania wrote: »

I have always attached both CV and cover letter with just a very small message in the email about what I am applying for and that relevant documents are to be found attached. But someone told me recently that you should not attach documents like that and everything should be in the body of the message instead.

That is pretty much what I've always done and I've never had any problems (at least, not that I know of ). Did the person give you any reason why you shouldn't attach documents like that? The only thing I can think of is that they may have something daft like a no attachments policy for their e-mail.