Russell writes:
I am new to career-hunting online. I am curious to know if I should include a cover letter when I send my resume via e-mail or via fax. If I should send a cover letter via e-mail, should I draft a traditional letter and attach it to the e-mail, or should I write one in the body of an e-mail message such as the one I’m sending to you now?
The Career Doctor responds:
Unless an employer specifically states no cover letters, you should always include a cover letter! Why would you want to eliminate a key selling tool in your job-search portfolio? The whole point of a cover letter is to draw interest in you and get the potential employer to look over your resume.
By the way, for some great tips on writing a dynamic cover letter, I suggest you visit my cover letter resources section, which includes some great links, such as to the cover letter tutorial (for those who need a lot of help with writing cover letters) and the cover letter formula, as well as many other tools and resources.
When sending a fax, of course, you would send a normal cover letter, but email is a little trickier. For email, I suggest sending your cover letter both as part of the email and as an attachment. You need to make a quick sale in your email, so why not take advantage of the possibility?
Another factor is whether the company wants a regular resume or a text resume. There are a number of format differences, as well as some minor content differences. For more information on resumes, visit the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers..
