Lesson 6 covered the subject line for an email to a colleague. This one is about the harder case: writing to somebody who does not know you, has no reason to open your message, and is deciding from six words on a phone screen whether you are worth their time.
A subject line has one job: to tell a stranger what this is before they open it. On a phone, they see roughly the first six to eight words, and often nothing else.
For an application, name the job. Employers hiring for three roles at once sort by subject, and many ask for a reference number precisely so they can. If the advert gives one, it goes in the subject, exactly as written.
- Good: Application: Cashier, ref RTL-204, Thabo Mokoena
- Good: Application for General Assistant, closing 14 September
- Weak: Job application
- Weak: Hi
- Worst: nothing at all
For a query, say what you are asking. "Question about the Data Capturer post, closing date" gets answered. "Query" does not.
For a follow up, say it is one. "Following up: Cashier interview, 3 September" tells them instantly which conversation this is, without making them scroll.
Why an empty subject is worse than a bad one. Spam filters treat blank subjects as suspicious, so it may never arrive. If it does, it cannot be searched for later, and an employer who cannot find your email cannot act on it. Nobody replies to a message they cannot name.
You are applying for a cashier post that gives a reference number, RTL-204.
What happens: On a phone they see "Please find attached my CV, I am very..." and nothing that identifies the job. It also puts the whole message in the subject, which reads as though you do not know how email works.
What happens: Job, reference, name, in that order, and all of it visible in the phone preview. When they search their inbox for RTL-204 next week, you are in the results.
Should I put my name in the subject?
For a job application, yes, at the end. It costs nothing and it means your email is findable by your name as well as by the job. For everyday work email, no, because they can already see who it is from.
The advert gives no reference number
Then use the job title exactly as the advert writes it, and add the closing date if there is one. What you are trying to do is match the words the employer is thinking in, not describe the job in your own.
Can I reuse the same email for several jobs?
You can reuse the structure. Never reuse the subject line without changing the job title, and check it every time before you send. An application to a hardware store with the previous employer's job title in the subject is the fastest rejection there is, and it happens constantly.
Before you move on
- Name the job, and the reference number if there is one
- Keep the important words in the first six
- Change the subject every time you reuse an email
Check what you know
4 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.
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