Snail Mail or email resume?

You may be wondering what is the best format to send your resume. I.e. do you send your CV/Resume via snail mail i.e. postal service or via email?

1. What are the pros and cons of doing so?
2. How do I avoid being filtered as spam!

Employers will have different preferences with regards to this so if in doubt simply call them up and ask. But remember to print out a copy for yourself to take with you to the interview regardless of what the desired format is by the employer. If you are not able to find out what they prefer then always forward it by post. After forwarding an email resume always call and ask if it was received safely. If it was not then forward a hard copy. You may wish to do this anyway as an extra precaution.

Pros and cons of sending via the post

The cons of course are the time and cost concerned, in that you need paper, ink, printer, envelopes (A4) staple gun and postage and then of course a trip to the post office. Make sure if sending CVs this way that you are prepared and have all these items handy and ready to go when you need to send out that application. The pros’ of sending a hard copy CV is that for the recruiting employer they are much easier to read and refer to than email ones.

Pros and cons of sending email resume/cv

You can forward CVs in bulk from the comfort of your own home in minutes! It doesn’t cost you anything in paper, ink, envelopes or postage! On the downside the CV/resume is hard to read, the employer may forget it exists and worse it may be filtered out as spam!

To avoid Spam filters you should do the following:

• Avoid sending bulk messages. It is better to add some customizing to each CV rather than making it clear to the employer you are just doing a mass mail out and really have no great interest in their company! Additionally your ISP may identify a bulk mail out as Spam.
• Put something simple in the subject line and do not use punctuation, numbers, and monetary signs and do not capitalize words or swear though this is highly unlikely when sending a CV!
• Don't use the words used by Spam sites such as ‘free’ etc.
• Send a plain text" e-mail as often as possible with few links. Plain text means that you do not add colours or change the font etc.
• Using words in your CV that relate to monetary figures and symbols may trigger Spam filters so perhaps write those figures out full in words rather than using £/$ signs and numbers.
• Don't attach your resume to your e-mail unless requested to do so by the employer. Instead copy and paste your resume in plain text into the body of the email.
• Make a follow up phone call to ensure that the employer rec’d it.

Note: These tips may help reduce the problem but there is still no guarantee that even after following the rules that your email will get through. As spammers find ways around the Spam filters so do filters change and update to find ways around the Spam. So while these tips may help they by no means guarantee success.