What to Write in Email When Sending Resume to a Friend?

What to Write in Email When Sending Resume to a Friend?

You need a job, you’re out and about, the sun shines on you, wind gently tickles and out of nowhere you see an old friend. “Wow” you think, “John seems like a pretty big deal”. Anyway, you chat for a bit, catch up on news and what you’ve been up to.

“Looking for a job?” John asks. “I can forward your resume to our HR department, you know.”

You hunt for a new job, but how do you go when a contact invites you to send a resume?! It's not a best friend resume, so:

Honest ask to forward recommendations

We also know the crossroads when asking a friend or a recently-networked acquaintance for a job recommendation and not knowing how to email someone who requested your resume.

The Alpha and the Omega of how to write an email asking for a job from a friend:

  • Will your friend think you slack in life?
  • Will your pal actually forward your resume email?
  • Does anything look unprofessional?
  • How professional, personal, and casual should you act?

Truth is, most people will gladly forward a resume for a friend. Email an honest pitch and do your best. Good people will always lend you а hand. Talk upfront, friendly, stick to respective email tone and general netiquette.

The right type of networking message, business manners, beautiful email header, and subject line can leverage contacts and friendships up to the point where you get a new job you love.

Now that’s something worth to fine-tune, planning, and nitty-gritty prep. when forwarding your resume to a friend.

At Enhancv, we know this story all too well. We know the ups and downs of job-hunting sanity. If you struggle, but want to do your best, our Career Counsellors are here to help! That’s a cover letter writing service of perfect results but also teaches you helpful know-how to use for the rest of your career.

Nail email subject and title

To refer a friend for a job, email subject appeal is key.

Use your friend’s name! Nothing persuades people better than somebody using your name. It’s a psychologically proven trigger of our immediate focus.

Subject: Hey, [your friends first name], it’s [your name]. Is the [company name] vacancy still open? :-)

We love hearing or reading our name. Stay casual. Keep it tight and concise.

What to write in the body of an email when sending a resume

  • Who you are.
  • Who introduced you and where you met.
  • Where did you discuss the job opening with your contact?
  • If someone recommended you, provide information about:
  • Your relationship?
  • Connection to the business and/or the industry contact you write to?
  • What’s your current occupation? (not mandatory, but keywords could help)
  • Are you up to change your role or job?
  • Are you onto a better career?
  • You have no experience.
  • You are eager to learn.
  • Why you are interested in the job position
  • If a special position is available, give it a name.
  • If a specific position isn't available, what kind of job do you want to do?
  • What leading questions would you ask of the company and job?
  • Why do you feel good about it.
  • Polite outro.
  • Signature with photo and contacts.
  • Qualifications and accreditations.
  • Attachments.

Dummy-proof your email address

Your email address plays a significant role in the job-hunting process, and it’s among the common resume evaluation pitfalls that hinder or ruin a job application even though a recommendation.

Think of it as your brand or professional identity, and emails like cutie_92@yahoo.com do not make a great first impression.

Create a new email address that’s a bit more professional. A good rule of thumb is to use your first and last name. If that’s not available, add a full stop between them, or a number.

  • Imagine how your friend would feel if he or she has to forward a dummy-looking email?
  • Would you forward an email from cutie_92@yahoo.com to your hiring manager?
  • What message would that send?

Tailor emails in a personal manner and talk straight to the point

Just as you must both laser-tailor your resumes to the job description and personalize to the recipient:

  • Focus on your friendly tone.
  • Reference something you talked about.
  • Say you’re happy that you brought up the question last time.
  • Keep a semi-formal, conversational tone and hand-pick your power words to support the pitch.
  • Ask for opinions, feedback, and tips.

Unless you’re not confident that it’s okay to drop an email and resume attached, try:

“Hey [name], great seeing you last [insert week day] but I wonder if this is the right email address?” + (a smiley face)

And wait for a reply. This is a great way to “set your foot in the door” and confirm that your friend is still there for you.

Testify motivation and don’t push the favor

When asking friends, we forget that the email will land in the inbox of the person recruiting on the other end of the chain. There is a probability of that happening as part of the one your acquaintance will resend because people often press forward to their hiring manager.

Polish your web presence a.k.a. "social resume" or hide well in advance! Social profiles can leave the wrong impression and there are things you NEVER put on a resume, especially when asking friends, or colleagues to forward as part of a recommendation.

Check out the archive of resume tips to broaden your scope and know-how on crafting a perfect sabotage-proof CV.

Mention key skills and strengths to reinforce the recommendation

Reference key aspects of your skills, the field of work, goals, and why you have an interest in the role.

Be straightforward and don’t forget that ultimately it’s about forwarding your resume in a professional context.

However, beware and:

  • Stay away from lengthy emails.
  • Promote your personal traits.
  • Showcase your transferable skills.
  • Referral of professional qualifications, accreditations, and references.
  • Personal experience, own work, or business.
  • Link to your projects and illustrate them with numbers and results.

Show your brightest unicorn-employee side and determination to take the conversation to the next level. Diligence with crafting an email can go a long way! Just be careful with using emojis wrong.

Craft a neat email signature

Saying hello is as important as saying goodbye.

That’s why a neat and professional-looking signature can make or break the last impression you make.

Although emailing someone you know, you’re after professional matters and your diligence is an absolute must if you want to have your friend's sincerest vouch and support. The goal is personal email turned marketing to ultimately sell your pitch and get you the job! Wrap a neat and professional outro section.

Add your Linkedin on your resume and email. Add a good-looking headshot (if possible), phone number, personal website(s), notable publications, voilà!

Proofread, proof-read, proof read


So, after you’re done with the resume, remember the last step - detailed proofreading. Typos and spelling errors on your CV lower the chances of landing an interview.

Don’t trust grammar tools blindly! Period.

They work great most of the time until they don't, and a minor glitch could ruin your professional precis and cost you the interview plus job.

Prep a tailored cover letter for the particular job opening

Do you send a formal cover letter, even though your contact didn’t ask for one?

Include craft and tailor argumentation to the specific case. Your acquaintance can always put in a kind word or two, but nothing beats formality, while it’d be good to hint for feedback you got from other employees as part of your thesis.

Use examples of attention-grabbing cover letters to borrow best practices and write a cover letter to impress!

Use proper filenames

Turn your attention to how you name the files attached.

Include your first, last name, and details of the company and position you apply for. Don’t make rookie mistakes such as a simple “Resume [someone’s first name]”, “CV January”, “Cover letter”,  “Company”, etc.

Apply diverse file types

You make a good impression to attach multiple file types of your resume to the email, not to mention formats and applicant tracking system standards.

Make sure to attach:

  • the standard PDF (.pdf) file
  • the classic Microsoft document (.docx, .doc)
  • Popular Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)
  • the good old TXT (.txt)
  • and even an image (.jpg, jpeg, .png)

By including multiple file types, you give the recipient a choice and thus show respect for his/her time and convenience. The idea is to signify vigor, diligence, and motivation in a unidirectional way.

Moreover, file types like PDF, are prone to malicious attacks. Anybody with experience in email security will go for the regular TXT, the DOCX/DOC, or the image file instead.

At the same time, PDFs sometimes won’t visualize right, especially with older browsers, grumpy mobile devices, or a poor internet connection. Therefore, it bodes well to a backup plan, if... luck fails you.

Better safe than sorry, right?

Mind megabyte limits, too!

Attachments that exceed 10 MB might scare people off. Also, some enterprise email systems might reject an email if it gets labelled as one having excessive size.

It’s okay for design, structure, and typography to be areas out of your league, so use a resume builder and focus on impactful details that may occur while you format a good resume/CV template to a top-notch resume that lands you the job!

Test attachments before you send

Make sure that files download and run smoothly before you hit send. As you see, it is critical to review your email twice, thrice or four times BEFORE YOU HIT SEND!

Your email might look superb, but only until you let it go. That’s when systems could glitch and ruin time and effort put.

Test, test, test!

Sample Example of Sending a Resume to a Friend:


Hey {NAME}!

It was great seeing you at {PLACE OF MEETING}. I hope work is treating you well today.

You mentioned something about {COMPANY NAME} hiring a {JOB POSITION} and I’d love to apply! I’m sending you my resume for your consideration. Find attached the appropriate files.

During my time at {PREV COMPANY} as a {PREV JOB POSITION} I carried various communications projects, formed strategies, managed drafts, and editorial materials, established the company presence, amended legislation, a list of accomplishments, etc. My most significant contribution to the company is that we achieved an increase of 55% within a year, thanks to my strategic and operational decision-making.

The opportunity you mentioned closely matches my field, which is why I am grateful for you. Thanks for forwarding my resume.

Kind Regards,

[Your small name]


Hey [your friend’s name],

How are you doing? Great seeing you at Meredith’s party last week! In our brief talk, you mentioned an open position in company X, and would love to apply. I am forwarding my resume for your consideration. Find attached the appropriate file types.

In my previous experience, in my time as ABC for XYZ Company, I carried various communications projects, formed strategies, managed drafts, and editorial materials, established the company presence, amended legislation, a list of accomplishments, etc. My most significant contribution to the company is that we achieved an increase of 55% within a year, thanks to my strategic and operational decision-making.


Kind Regards,

[Your small name]

[Your photo]

[Your name]

[Full contacts]

Anticipate the response

Once you forward your resume, expect a reply to your networking email. It might be minutes, days, weeks, or... never.

However, if the scales tip in your favor, reply as fast as you can.

Spend a reasonable minute or two to check before you go to sleep. Such a routine is a sure sign of successful people who are prospective employees. Now that’s what recruiters seek and value.

Follow-up emails

It’s nerve-wracking to send in your resume and not hear from your friend within a week. If time is of the essence, reach out to more urgent means as email inboxes are often bombarded.

Upon a direct reply and interview, set up a WOW follow-up email to both your friend and upcoming interviewer to once more engage everybody.

But remember: You need to walk a fine line to make it right!

While you want to remind your contact of yourself in the light of a proactive candidate, you wouldn’t want to feel pushy, so mind your manners.

Proofread. Double-check. Satisfaction over hurry. Cut the risk of sending the worst follow-up. Otherwise, you risk the whole thing not working. Goodbye career you didn’t get.

Check our notes on follow up emails and responding to interview requests, so you do your best.

Hired or Not

Successful or rejected, close talks polite and let your contact know if he/she helped you get an interview or land the job. This keeps the relationship open for the future and also makes the person feel good about helping.

How to Ask for Recommendations on Email? Forwarding Resumes to Friends, Remarks

The world is full of opportunities, and connections mean business. You have to seize the chance. Now, we know that you are equipped with the know-how shared above, and ready to send not one, but a handful of emails.