How do enclosures work

You do not need any context from the cover letter to understand what is written in the cover resume. The same goes for a market survey chart or brochure. These are all examples of enclosures. When you write an informal letter to someone, in the body of the letter, you can inform the recipient that you enclosed or attached something.

This is perfectly fine. The same cannot be said for formal letters, though. When you are writing a formal letter, there is a right and wrong way of citing.

When you are citing an enclosure, put the citation in parenthesis. What if you have more than one enclosure? In this case, they are cited the same way. This way, they can contact you in case something is missing. You can also just state the number of enclosed documents without actually writing out their names. Enclosures: 4 means that you have enclosed four documents. The only disadvantage to just listing the number of enclosures is that the recipient has no idea which documents to expect, just how many documents they should find with the business letter.

However, only send what is essential to your purpose. Don't overload the recipient with so much material that they feel overwhelmed; you want them to read the material, not discard it.

Examples of enclosures include:. A formal business letter should make the reader aware that you are enclosing documents. It is a good idea to refer to the documents by name and if they require a response, mention that as well. For example, "Please complete and return the enclosed W-9 form to our office by Dec.

In the past, standard language for mentioning enclosures included the phrase, "Enclosed, please find However, this phrase is antiquated and falling out of use. After all, you have already told your reader that you are enclosing the documents, so they don't need to go find them.

Why are cover letter enclosures important? Steps for writing an enclosure. Gather the materials you're including with your cover letter. Make a list of what each document is ex: resume, references, etc. Write your cover letter. Under your name at the end of the letter, skip two lines. On the third line, write "Enclosure:" or "Enclosures:" if there are multiple documents. Skip a line after "Enclosures:" and then begin your list of enclosures. Put each enclosed document title on its own line.

Put your documents in order of how they're listed on the cover letter. Arrange the documents with the cover letter on top. Mail or hand off the documents. Tips for including a cover letter enclosure. Limit enclosures to only what is absolutely necessary to avoid overwhelming your audience. Don't abbreviate "Enclosures" in your cover letter.

Keep your cover letter on one page, even with your list of enclosures. If you have many enclosures, it's best to use a larger envelope that doesn't require folding the documents. If you only have one enclosure and don't want to list it, you can simply write "Enclosure" under the signature area, without a colon.

If you're sending the documents digitally, use "attachment" instead of "enclosure. One enclosure. Get it right and maximize your earning potential with these examples and tips. To learn more visit our Privacy Policy Got it! So the hiring manager has read to the end of your cover letter. Let me show you how. Create your cover letter now Sample Cover Letter for a Resume— See more cover letter templates and create your cover letter here. Does this sound like overkill? Find your name at the end of your cover letter and double space after that.

Skip a line and then begin to list each of your enclosures. Remember that each enclosure gets its own line, so, for example, four enclosures need four lines.

Do not put numbers indicating how many enclosures you have. Reread each line for any spelling errors. Wrong Sincerely, Ryan Gunter Enclosures: 3 resume, 2 letters of recommendation.