If you already wrote a good cover letter, you’ve basically already written your cold email.
You’re going to take almost the same text and put it directly into an email.
But first: why do we even need to cold email?
As I’ve already explained, companies get so many job applications that it can be incredibly hard to stand out.
You want to do whatever you can to get directly in front of the hiring manager.
Cold email is one of the best ways to do that.
In fact, for a lot of the jobs I post at SkillCat, I only look at the resumes of people who cold email me.
Why?
Because the fact that they cold emailed me already tells me something about them.
They have initiative.
They really care.
They’re motivated.
They were willing to do something that most applicants weren’t willing to do.
So even before I’ve opened their resume, they’ve already differentiated themselves.
There are really three parts to doing this.
1. Find the right person’s email
Start with companies in your area.
Go to the company’s website and see if you can find an email address for the person responsible for hiring.
If you can’t find it there, there are tools that can help.
Two good ones are Hunter.io and Apollo. They’re relatively inexpensive and typically have some sort of free option or trial.
Search for the company.
Search for the person you’re trying to reach.
Then find their email address.
The goal is to get your message directly in front of somebody who can actually hire you.
2. Write a subject line that shows excitement
You need them to actually open the email.
I like subject lines that immediately communicate how excited you are about the opportunity.
Something like:
My dream job
or
My dream is to work at [Company Name]
The point isn’t to be fancy.
It’s to make it immediately obvious that this isn’t some generic email you blasted to 500 companies.
You genuinely want to work there.
3. Put your cover letter directly into the email
Then take the short, personalized cover letter you already wrote and paste it directly into the body of the email.
Don’t make the hiring manager open another document just to figure out why you’re reaching out.
Keep it short.
Tell them who you are.
Tell them why you would be a good fit.
Tell them specifically why you want to work for their company.
Attach your resume.
Then hit send.
And make sure you follow up
If they don’t respond, that does not necessarily mean they aren’t interested.
People are busy. Emails get buried.
Give it about a week and follow up at least once.
I’d also switch up when you send the follow-up.
If your first email went out on a weekday afternoon, maybe send the next one in the morning.Or in the evening.Or on the weekend.
The goal is simply to give yourself another chance to catch them at a time when they might actually see it.
That’s really it.
Find the right person. Get their email. Write a subject line that shows you actually care. Paste in your personalized cover letter. Attach your resume. Send it. Follow up.
Most applicants will never do this.
That’s exactly why you should.