Email Etiquette And You

Yes, there is a correct way to send an email and look professional. If you’re applying for a job in, say, Customer Service and need to send an email, here are a few pointers. These will let you come across as professional and respectful.

 

1. Minding your manners: When you learned the basic rules of manners way back when, it was please and thank you. It still applies. People may not notice them when you use them but they sure do when you don’t. While you’re at it, address people you don’t know as Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. If they have implied to use their first name, then you can do so.

 

2. Tone Usage: How can you have a tone of voice in an email, you ask? You’d be surprised. Sometimes it’s difficult to express the proper tone in writing that you’re trying to achieve. You can come across as curt or disrespectful instead of friendly and approachable. If you’re writing to a prospective employer, don’t use emotion icons. Stick to words only and avoid writing in all upper case, it looks like you’re yelling at the person you’re writing to. Using all lower case makes you look like you’re mumbling or that you don’t know how to write a correct sentence.

 

3. Be brief: Get to your point as concisely and quickly as possible. Let details out that will help your recipient answer your questions but don’t go on and on either. If you’re too abrupt then you come across as rude.

 

4. Be professional: Don’t use cute or suggestive email addresses for business communication. Get a more formal address for business email and save the other for friends and family.

 

5. Be careful in using attachments: Virus’s can hook onto attachments without the sender even knowing that it's there. Contact the recipient first and see if it’s alright to send it. If you’re sending a resume, it’s better to paste it right into the body of the email just to be safe. If you’re trying for a job and you send the prospective employer a computer virus, are you going to be hired?

 

6. Use correct spelling and punctuation: I can’t stress this enough. Use a dictionary or a spell checker but don’t guess. You can write in a conversational tone, just pay attention to the basic rules of grammar. Abbreviations are not to be used either. Business email needs to be more formal.

 

7. Don’t hit send yet: In fact, wait to fill in the “TO” until you’re totally finished with the letter. That way it’s exactly the way you want it when you send it after rereading it. Hitting send accidentally when you’re not quite done definitely won’t get you that job.

 

I know that a lot of this is just common sense, but that seems to have gone by the wayside in this day and age too. Use these few rules when sending a business email and you may have a step up to getting that job.

 

Comments, as always, are welcome.

 

 

By Linda Lee Ruzicka

 

 

 

Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 8 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She also does freelances work for Beyond and for CSJobs.com. More of her blogs can be found at CSJobsblog.com.