These days, most employees often require potential job candidates to apply for a position through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). Especially when you're applying for a position with a Singapore job recruitment agency. However, email pitches are still relatively common.
Most people, especially fresh graduates, don’t think of email pitches as a way to get their “foot in the door” of a company. Remember, you only get one chance to make a great impression. You might not know this but most HR professionals and hiring managers receive a lot of emails on the daily. To stand out from the crowd, your email pitch has to be attention-grabbing. If yours fail to capture their attention, they might just ignore your job application.
Remember, even if you're applying for a position through a job recruitment agency in Singapore, these tips will help elevate your job application.
Now that you understand the potential of a job application email, here are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd:
1. Your subject line matters
The first step to making your email stand out from the crowd is crafting an attention grabbing subject line. Here’s how to craft the perfect email subject line:
Include the word “application”
Details such as your name and the title of the job you’re applying for
Try to market yourself in your subject line
An example of a great subject line is, “Nasfira Ahmad, Application: Experienced Web Designer”. You can tell that the subject line is short, sweet, and the word “experienced” helped Nasfira market herself briefly.
Avoid vague subject lines. You want to be specific as it would make hiring managers easier to find your resume. An example of a vague subject line is, “Job Application” or “Response to Job Advertisement”.
2. Address the hirer or hiring manager appropriately
Unless you personally know the hirer/hiring manager, you SHOULD always address them with “Dear”. Don’t forget to include the name or the title of the hiring manager, or you would have a very confused hirer. Still unsure of how to address the hirer? Try using, “Dear Sir or Madam” instead. It’s respectful and simple.
Some websites will advise job applicants against using the words “Hi” or “Hey” as a greeting. But really, it depends on the industry you’re applying to and the tone of voice you’re using in your email. Something like, “Hey there!” could be seen as a refreshing and friendly change to the hirer.
Pro-Tip:
This goes without saying but you’d want to avoid addressing the hiring manager in a rude manner. Additionally, if the company is a corporate one, you’d want to avoid addressing the hirers with informal greetings such as “Hi” or “Hey”.
Don’t forget to end your email with a polite close. Sign it off with words like, “Best” or “Warm Regards” along with your full name. Additionally, if you have a great email signature, you can choose to add that to the end of your pitch. Just to keep things more personalised!
For an example of how to end your email politely, check out this article by The Balance Careers.
3. Try and market yourself
Don’t forget to include all the reasons why you’d be a good hire in your introductory paragraph. Your email pitch should include:
The relevant years of experience you’ve had
Your qualifications - if necessary
Highlight any necessary skills that you have
Keep in mind that in the introductory paragraph, you should explain all the reasons why the hirer should want you. This way, the employers would immediately know of all the benefits you can bring in when they hire you.
Avoid repeating the same information you did in your resume. Additionally, you’d want to avoid mentioning your previous monthly income - unless the industry you’re in is able to judge an experience based on your monthly income (i.e. MOE teachers). Other things you should refrain from doing include:
Regurgitating everything from your CV
Why you want to work for the company (not yet)
How good this will be for your career path
4. Include your contact details
So you’ve managed to mesmerize them with both your job application email and your resume. Don’t forget to include your contact details in both your CV and job pitch email. That way if the hiring manager finds your resume satisfactory enough to interview you. They’ll have your contact details on hand.
Don’t forget to include a call to action before your contact details. An example would be, “should you wish to discuss my interview, I am available from 6pm onwards at [insert phone number]”.
Pro-Tip:
You want to make it as easy as possible for hiring managers to find your contact details. If it’s a hassle to find ways to contact you, it’s a hassle to hire you. And they might skip on to another candidate.
Keep this rule in mind when you’re linking your portfolio to your email pitch. Make everything as seamless and easy as possible for them - and it’ll pay off.
5. Your email should only be detailed if you don’t have to send a cover letter
According to Vulcan Post, your email pitch should only be detailed if you’re not sending a cover letter over as well.
6. Keep your email pitch short and sweet!
As much as recruiters love detailed email pitches, we still want to read something that’s short and sweet! Try keeping your job application pitch to below 300 words. And we’re being generous here!
7. Don’t forget to attach your resume!
The most important thing to remember is to attach your resume to your email. If not, all your efforts poured into creating an amazing email pitch would be worthless! Keep in mind that you should attach your resume in a format that is well liked by recruiters and hiring managers.
For more information on this, check out these articles:
Do you have more tips for a winning email pitch to land you a job in Singapore? Let us know in the comments section below! Alternatively, check out more related articles below.