1. Convenience
It’s quicker to read an email than it is to open an attachment. Those who specialize in what’s known as “user experience” (or UX) call this “friction”: Every step someone needs to take to do what she wants to do (in case this, read the letter) bogs things down.
(This especially true when it comes donation webpages: As a process gets longer, the number of people who complete it decreases. And it’s doubly so with smartphones, which is where people increasingly read the first draft of everything.)
The bottom line: Don’t create hurdles for your recruiter. Make it as easy as possible for her to skim your materials.
2. Technology
Some email clients (for example, the latest version of Outlook) automatically show you a preview of any attachments. But most do not. So, if you send an attachment, your recipient needs to open it in order to read it, rather than viewing it from and in the email itself.
3. Security
It’s a terrible security practice to open attachments from people you don’t know. This is one of the easiest ways to get a virus or to get hacked.
