I recently spoke with a fellow recently who asked me whether a cover letter should be used when approaching an employer for the first time using email. I used to say that a cover letter isn’t necessary but as it’s your initial contact with the pm&r employer, I think it’s a good idea. It should include concise information about how your skills relate to the needs of the employer. Sometimes the needs of the employer aren’t clear in an advertisement so research on the employer may be helpful. Regardless, you should always research the employer before any contacts with them.
The main consideration when applying for a physical medicine and rehabilitation job is to be concise in your communications. This rationale is because the employer is busy with their daily activities and recruitment for them is added work on top of their daily work. So, for example, you might want to use bullet points in your cover letter as you list your skills and their needs.
You might also want to include the cover letter as an attachment along with your attached cv. I say this because if you include your cover letter only in the body of the email, it may not get passed along to the other members of the employer group. The HR manager may only print out your cv and pass it along. If your cv and your cover letter are attached, hopefully both will be passed onto the decision makers in the company/practice.
I’ve been seeing some curricula vitae (cv) with two columns, boxed sections, etc. and I suggest a basic curriculum vitae instead. It’s much easier to read by the employer. I understand that two columns may allow you to shorten your curriculum vitae to a page but if the reader has to skip around on the cv not knowing where everything is listed as it’s in different format for each candidate, it’s more difficult and time-consuming for them. Your contact information of your email address and phone number should be on the top of your cv. A sample cv can be found on my website.
Best wishes on your practice search!