When Emailing Your Internship Application.....

A student asked over Twitter today if it's appropriate to include a cover letter in the body of an email to an employer. When emailing in an internship application DIRECTLY to a contact (not through a job board), I suggest the following:

1. Send the email from a professional email address or a university email address. Do not use an old AOL screen name.

2. The actual note in the email should be short, sweet, and to-the-point. If you were writing me the note it could say something like:

Lauren Berger,

Attached please find my cover letter and resume for the Summer 2011 internship at Intern Queen Inc. I'm currently a junior at the University of Central Florida and will be able to get school credit for this opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
(Your Name)

3. Attach your cover letter and resume (in separate documents) to the email.

4. Save your emails with professional titles. My resume is saved as Lauren Berger Resume and my cover letter is saved as Lauren Berger Cover Letter.

5. Make sure you delete old versions of your resumes and cover letters so you don't get confused and send old versions to employers.