THE BILINGUAL JOB FAIR BLOG

Bilingual Job Search Tips: How to Write an Inquiry E-Mail

September 24, 2009

Here are some tips for writing an e-mail to a company inquiring about possible job openings when no openings have been advertised.

1. Address the email to a specific person. Use the internet or personal contacts to find out who does the hiring and to learn their email address.  Or just make a quick phone call to the employer and find out.  Don’t address the letter to “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam”.  When you do this, it says that you have not taken the time to do your homework.  It indicates that you are just sending emails and resumes out to numerous employers and hoping one will stick.  It does not look as if you have a high level of interest in this particular company.

2. Start your email off with an interesting sentence. For example, “My ten years of experience in _____ makes me an excellent match for a position in your _____ department.” Then be sure to mention how you became bilingual, such as, “I lived in Argentina for twelve years and am fluent in Spanish and English.” You can get more  suggestions for how to do this by reading How to Write a Cover Letter that Showcases Your Bilingual Skills.

3. Make sure that your email is as well written as a formal cover letter would be. Make sure there are no misspelled words and that you have used proper grammar.  Use your spell-check! Your goal is to encourage the employer to eagerly read your resume next.  Use a conversational but professional tone.

Next we will discuss sending a cover letter e-mail for a specific job opening.

Filed under: Resumes & Letters

Tags: bilingual skills, cover letter, cover letter tips, Job Hunting, job search, letter format tips