Applying by Email in Germany: Subject, Body and Attachments

The documents are ready, you know who to write to — and then the pondering starts: does the cover letter go into the email itself or into the attachment? What goes in the subject line? How many files are acceptable? The job application by email is the most common route in Germany alongside online portals, and thankfully its formal rules are manageable. This article covers the delivery route — for the content of the cover letter, see our separate guides.

Cover letter in the email body or in the attachment?

The central question first. Two variants are accepted:

Variant 1 (recommended): cover letter in the PDF, email kept short. The cover letter is the first page of your application PDF; the email itself contains only three to five sentences. The advantage: your documents remain one complete, printable package — even when the PDF is forwarded internally, the cover letter travels with it.

Variant 2: cover letter as the email text. The full letter sits directly in the email, and the PDF contains only CV and certificates. This is also widespread and legitimate — but then be consistent: do not include the cover letter in the attachment as well, or it appears twice.

If the job ad specifies a variant, the ad wins. Without instructions, variant 1 is the safest choice.

The perfect subject line

The subject line decides whether your email can be assigned at all. The proven pattern:

Application for [position], reference number [X] — [first name last name]

For example: “Application for Marketing Manager, reference number 2026-114 — Anna Weber”. The reference number comes from the ad and routes the application internally; without one, position and name suffice. What does not belong in the subject: “Application” on its own (impossible to assign), exclamation marks, or add-ons like “urgent”.

The short email text

For variant 1 you only need a few sentences — friendly, specific, without repeating the cover letter:

Dear Ms [Name],

Please find attached my application for the position of [position] (reference number [X]). The attached PDF contains my complete documents — cover letter, CV and certificates.

I would be delighted to be invited to an interview.

Yours sincerely [First name Last name] [Phone number]

The phone number below the sign-off saves the recipient a search. A signature with your address is fine but not required — the details are in the PDF anyway. For more on writing a genuinely brief letter text, see our guide to the short cover letter.

Attachments done right: one PDF, clearly named

• ONE file — cover letter, CV and certificates merged into a single PDF, in that order. Five separate files force the recipient to do a jigsaw.
• No more than about 5 MB — larger emails get blocked by some servers. Compress scanned certificates and the photo first.
• A meaningful file name — ✅ “Application_Weber_Marketing-Manager.pdf” instead of ❌ “scan_final_new2.pdf”.
• Always PDF — Word files shift depending on the program version and leak metadata.

Sender address, timing, confirmation of receipt

Sender address: firstname.lastname@… is the standard. Nickname or novelty addresses cost credibility before the email is even opened — a professional address takes five minutes to set up with any major provider.

Timing: a weekday morning, roughly between 8 and 11 am — the email then sits high in an active inbox. Sending at 3 am looks chaotic. More important than the hour: well before the deadline.

Confirmation of receipt: many companies confirm automatically. If nothing arrives after about a week, a friendly follow-up by email or phone is entirely legitimate. A read receipt, on the other hand, is never requested — it pressures the recipient and leaves a distrustful impression.

Common mistakes in email applications

1. Forgetting the attachment — the classic. The fix: attach the PDF first, write the text second, and enter the recipient's address last.
2. “FW: FW:” chains — sending your application as a forward of old emails exposes the whole thread. Always start a fresh email.
3. Requesting a read receipt — comes across as controlling rather than interested.
4. Several separate files or 20 MB scans — both ruin the first impression.
5. All recipients in CC — applying to several companies at once and making it visible gets you rejected everywhere.
6. An empty email without text — an attachment with no salutation or note looks like an accident.

Checklist: email application before sending

• Subject line following the pattern: position, reference number, name?
• Cover letter question settled: in the PDF OR as the email text — not both?
• ONE PDF, under 5 MB, meaningful file name?
• Email text with salutation, three to five sentences and phone number?
• Professional sender address (firstname.lastname@…)?
• Attachment actually attached — and a test send to yourself done?

That leaves the document sitting at the front of the PDF: the cover letter itself. Our AI cover letter generator creates it from your profile and the job ad as a finished PDF — ready to attach to exactly this email.