What should the subject line of a job application email say?
The job title and one detail, in 8 words or fewer: "Maintenance technician, Rotherham packaging lines" rather than "Application for the position of Maintenance Technician". The reader sees the subject before anything else and decides from it whether this is about a job they are filling. Name the role exactly as the advert does, so it matches what they are looking for. Never write "Application for", which reads as a form, and never write it in capitals. Every letter Recruited sends is checked against these rules before it goes.
The rules, and why
- Eight words or fewer. A phone shows about that many in the inbox. Anything longer is cut off before it says what it is about.
- The role, exactly as the advert names it. A manager filling three vacancies sorts by title. "Maintenance technician" matches; "engineering opportunity" makes them open it to find out.
- One detail that proves you read the advert. The site, the team or the kit: "Aberdeen harbour", "night shift, packaging lines".
- Never "Application for". It reads as a form letter from somebody applying everywhere.
- No capitals, no exclamation marks, no "URGENT". Those are what spam filters and tired readers both look for.
Examples
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| Application for the position of Electrician | Electrician, Dyce site maintenance team |
| Job enquiry | Warehouse supervisor, nights, Livingston |
| CV ATTACHED - EXPERIENCED FITTER | Multi-skilled fitter, packaging lines |
On a follow-up
Reply on the same thread so the subject becomes "Re:" plus the original. A new subject on a follow-up reads as a new stranger, and they have to go and find what you sent before.
Whether the letter under it sounds like a person wrote it matters as much. The free checker shows the phrases that give a letter away.
Where these numbers come from
86 cold emails to real UK employers over four weeks, sent by one person looking for work, logged as they went. 22 replies. The full method and every table is in the playbook, free, no account.
They are engineering and technician roles in Scotland, so a different trade may behave differently. Where a row is thin it says so on the row.
Since then: 171 applications across 137 employers, 32 replies, 19%. Live, and updated after every run.
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