Email has become a dominant line of communication in the millennial generation.
Learning proper guidelines for emailing is essential to not only classroom success but real world as well.
As students are juggling more tasks than ever these days, they’re emailing professors, coworkers and applying for future internships and jobs.
After doing some human resource and recruiting work during my internship with Seventeen Magazine, I was appalled at the email applications I sorted through on a day-to-day basis.
The majority of these students within the communications world specifically, had little to no email common sense.
It became apparent to me that although sometimes discussed in the classroom, everyone needs a guide to refer to when emailing in not only personal but professional situations.
First and foremost, understand that your email address matters. In years past having soccerbaby92@ yahoo.com may have been okay but that needs to be deleted, immediately. Your email address is an accurate representation of who you are in your work and private life.
Selecting something similar to ‘YourName@gmail.com’ is an ideal choice for a new email. Your first and last name only may not be available but simple abbreviations; an underscore, period or a number can still keep it professional.
Once you have a chosen a more appropriate email address, the content of your email is key. It doesn’t matter how basic your email is or even whom you’re sending it to, you should always practice proper and professional email use.
Consider every email you send an opportunity to improve these skills. How you choose to address the person you are corresponding with can make all of the difference.
Depending upon your relationship with them, you may need to say ‘Hi Ms. Bailey’ or if you know them well enough ‘Hi Brianna,’ can work as well.
Enter return and then address the reason you are sending the message in the first place. Make sure to summarize your points clearly and concisely. Do not continuously ramble; if you do so, you are most certainly wasting the other person’s time. They will appreciate your ability to compose a short and to the point email.
When you have finished constructing the body of your email, make sure your subject (which should also be clear and concise) still matches what you wrote. Then do a grammar and spell check.
There’s no easier way to embarrass yourself, your company or disqualify yourself r being considered for a position with this type of small error. It shows that you lack the ability to be thorough in your work.
Be mindful at the end of your message to be polite and finish it with a Best, or Best, Regards, and your name below.
Lastly, make sure you have a signature set up in your email. This addresses who you are, your job if you have one, best way to communicate with you and simplifies the reply process for whom you reach out to.
Example:
Brianna Bailey
www.blossomingblonde.com
Bennett Communications
@BriannaBailey14
C: (206) 940-1465
Including your personal website if relevant to most correspondences, company you are with, social media handle and phone number gives plenty of information to those you are communicating with.
If you reference and memorize these steps for your email etiquette, you will not only be able to become an emailing pro but have the confidence and skills to email pros you want to work for.
