A letter acknowledging the receipt of a resume, letter or other business document is a way of assuring the sender that you have received the documents in question and will act on them as quickly as possible. The letter should be sent or e-mailed as quickly as possible, preferably as soon as the document is received, but no more than one or two days after receipt. If the letter of acknowledgment is delayed, then it should begin with an apology for the delay. If some action on the document is expected, then the letter must assure the recipient that the sender will act on them as soon as possible.

The purpose of the acknowledgment letter is simply to tell the recipient that the document has been received and should not offer any information beyond that. For example, if the letter is sent to acknowledge that an office has received a resume in reply to an advertisement, it should not contain any information about the status of the sender’s job application or whether the position remains open or not. If it is sent to acknowledge the receipt of a document requiring some sort of action, it should not include statements on the status of the action requested. But the letter should give the time frame within which the action will be performed (i.e. we will act on your request within two weeks; we will contact you by (date) about your application).

If the letter is in acknowledgment of receipt of a business document, the letter should be addressed to a specific person rather than to the company in general. The name and position of the recipient should be on top of the letter. The tone of the letter should also be friendly while still maintaining a formal and professional tone. This should be reflected in the opening and closing salutation, with the letter opening with ‘Dear’ and closing with ‘Yours Truly’ or ‘Sincerely Yours’.

Here is a sample of a letter acknowledging receipt of a resume and cover letter.

SAMPLE ACKNOWLEDGMENT LETTER

(Name of sender)
(Position in company)
(Company name)

Dear (name of recipient)

We have received your resume in response to our advertisement for (position). We are currently reviewing your application and we will be in touch with you within three to four working days.

Respectfully yours,
(Name of sender)
(Position)