How to Send Work Samples by Email for a Job (With Examples)

To send work samples by email for a job, follow any instructions the employer gave you, choose material that demonstrates the work the role requires, and explain your contribution in the message. Use a clearly labeled link or the requested attachment format. Tell the reader what to look at so they can understand the example without searching through your whole portfolio.

For unsolicited outreach, start with one relevant sample if you have a useful, shareable example. That is a practical editing choice, not a hiring rule. If a recruiter asks for three samples or a particular file type, send what they requested.

Choose the sample around a task in the job description

Read the responsibilities and pick one you can demonstrate. A polished project can still be a poor choice if it shows work unrelated to the opening.

For example, imagine an Operations Coordinator posting that emphasizes process documentation. A short handoff checklist with clear owners and escalation steps may show more relevant work than a slide deck about a large event you attended. For a customer education role, a setup guide you wrote could be a better fit than a sales presentation.

Ask yourself:

• Which responsibility does this example demonstrate?
• What did I personally create or decide?
• Can someone understand the sample with a short introduction?
• Am I allowed to share this version with a prospective employer?

Writing samples have their own conventions. Penn Career Services' writing-sample guidance distinguishes journalism clips, communications materials, and analytical writing, and advises labeling an excerpt when it comes from a longer paper. Use that role-specific approach when choosing material; the employer's stated requirements come first.

If you only need to send a resume, use the guide to resume attachments in networking emails. A work sample answers a different question: what does your work actually look like?

Add context before asking someone to open it

The email should identify the sample and connect it to the role. Put fuller background on the sample page or a short cover page when needed.

A vague introduction makes the recipient do the sorting:

Here is my portfolio. Let me know what you think.

A more useful version points to a specific example:

The role mentions customer onboarding documentation. I linked a two-page setup guide below; I wrote the instructions and tested them with two colleagues. Page 2 shows how I handled the most common setup errors.

That example is fictional. Use only details you can support. If you do not know whether the guide reduced support requests, describe what you changed rather than inventing a result.

For shared work, name your contribution: "I designed the spreadsheet layout and wrote the handoff instructions; the team lead defined the approval process." Avoid describing the whole team's project as something you built alone.

Template: include a sample in a first outreach email

Keep enough information in the email for the contact to understand your fit even if they do not open the link. The example below assumes you have already applied and that the sample is cleared for sharing. Change those details if they are not true.

Subject: Operations Coordinator application - process documentation sample

Hi Jordan,

I applied for the Operations Coordinator role at Northstar. The posting's focus on documenting handoffs matches my recent work coordinating customer onboarding.

I wrote the handoff checklist linked below. It shows how I documented owners, completion criteria, and when to escalate an incomplete setup. My contribution was the checklist and instructions; our team lead set the approval requirements.

Work sample: [direct link to the relevant sample]

Would this experience be relevant to the team's current needs? I would be glad to discuss the role.

Best,
Alex Morgan

Replace the fictional details and the bracketed link before sending. You can use the broader job-search cold email guide to shape the rest of your message. Do not add a sample merely to make the email longer; include it when it supports a specific reason to consider you.

Template: reply when a recruiter requests samples

Reply in the existing thread. If the request specifies a deadline, file type, number of examples, or upload portal, check those details before preparing the response.

Hi Jordan,

Thank you for the details. Attached are the two PDF samples you requested for the Customer Education Specialist role:

- Alex-Morgan-Setup-Guide.pdf: A setup guide I wrote, including the troubleshooting section on page 2.
- Alex-Morgan-Training-Outline.pdf: A workshop outline I developed. I planned the exercises; a colleague delivered the live session.

Both samples are approved for external sharing. Please let me know if you need a different format or have trouble opening either file.

Best,
Alex

Only include the permission statement if it is accurate. If the requested material is unavailable for sharing, explain that briefly and offer another example. If the request is ambiguous, ask a focused question such as, "Would you prefer an analytical memo or a customer-facing writing sample?"

Should you send a link or an attachment?

Follow the recipient's instructions. When none are given, choose the format that makes the particular sample straightforward to review.

A direct link can work for a public article, a portfolio case study, or a code repository with a clear readme. Link to the relevant item rather than a home page containing every project you have done. Describe the destination in the email, such as "customer onboarding case study," instead of sending an unexplained URL.

A PDF can work for a short writing sample or a fixed-layout document when attachments are welcome. Give the file a recognizable name and open the exported version yourself. Check that text is readable and that pages, images, and links survived the export.

If a recruiter provides an upload portal, submit there. Your reply can confirm the filenames and completion rather than attaching a second, potentially different set of files. For a demo that needs setup or a login, explain that before asking the recipient to use it; a short case study may be easier to review initially.

What if your best work is private?

Do not share internal files just because you created them. Use material approved for external sharing, ask the appropriate owner about permission, or choose a separate example. Changing a client name or putting a password on a page does not by itself establish permission to distribute the work.

You can write a new demonstration using invented data and label it clearly:

This is a self-directed demonstration using fictional customer records. I built it to show how I would organize an onboarding handoff; it is not a client deliverable or a report of business results.

Keep that exercise small enough to serve the purpose. You do not need to build a full unpaid project for each person you email. A class assignment, volunteer project you can share, or a focused personal project may already demonstrate the relevant skill. Explain its setting honestly.

Check what the recipient will actually receive

Before sending a link, open it while signed out or use a separate browser profile without your account. For a sample you intend to make public, check that it opens without an access request. If access is deliberately restricted, grant it to the intended recipient and explain how to open the file. Test viewing rather than relying on the fact that you can edit the original.

Check the sample itself as well:

• Remove comments or notes that were not meant for the recipient.
• Confirm your name and contribution are clear.
• Label an excerpt and give enough context to understand it.
• Check that any download matches the version described in your email.
• Keep the file or link available while the hiring conversation continues.

If someone reports an access problem, repair it and send one clear replacement in the same thread. Name the corrected file or link so they know which version to use. You do not need to resend your entire application.

Follow up about the role, with the sample as context

A shared link does not tell you what the hiring team decided. Follow the timeline they gave you. If no timeline was provided, use the guidance on following up after applying for a job to decide when to check in. Avoid repeatedly sending the same file or asking the contact to critique your portfolio unless they offered feedback.

Save the sample name, version, and recipient in your job-search outreach tracker. That record helps you prepare when someone asks about the example in an interview.

Personal Reach helps you find relevant opportunities and prepare role-specific outreach drafts for review. When editing a draft, you can connect your experience to the employer's needs and add a sample you have chosen and checked. Create a Personal Reach account to work through those opportunities with a clear next message.