Why shouldn’t applicants to job openings send their cover letter as an attachment in an e-mail? When would it be acceptable to send a cover letter as an attachment?

Answer:

Cover letters should not be sent as attachments, because the employer may block e-mails with attachments. This may be part of their e-mail filtering system to block junk mail or spam. The only time a cover letter should be submitted as an attachment is when it is specifically requested to be sent that way by the employer.