Finding work is often an exercise in how to communicate
effectively via email. If there is anything that I have learned about email
communications, it’s this: you must at all times be very polite and extremely
careful about how you word things. For
reasons that I really cannot fully explain, email communications are more
easily misinterpreted than any other form of communication. I have written many
email messages that I thought were straight-forward and logical only to find
out that the recipient of such message did not even come close to clearly
understanding what I wrote. It’s quite uncanny, actually.
Additionally, you
must always address the person you are communicating with by their full name, and
you must clearly identify who you are, including your address and telephone
number in your closing. Otherwise, you can be perceived as a spammer.
One thing I have seen over and over again in email communications, and this seems especially true with Millennials, is that people think it is okay to be informal and address people with words like ‘hey.” Over and over again people have sent me messages that start out with “hey,” and then close their message with no real identification of who they are other than their first name. I throw those emails in the trash immediately.
In the job search game, sometimes with a little research you can discover who is running the company or department that’s hiring and be able to send that person a very polite email that succinctly explains how much you are interested in getting hired and would be happy to provide more information about yourself anytime that is convenient. Such communications can often show that you are proactive and know how to use electronic communication in an effective manner.
When doing anything like this, however, remember the basic rules of the road that I just mentioned: be polite, address the recipient of your email by his or her full name, clearly identify yourself and how to contact you, and don’t be too informal.
One thing I have seen over and over again in email communications, and this seems especially true with Millennials, is that people think it is okay to be informal and address people with words like ‘hey.” Over and over again people have sent me messages that start out with “hey,” and then close their message with no real identification of who they are other than their first name. I throw those emails in the trash immediately.
In the job search game, sometimes with a little research you can discover who is running the company or department that’s hiring and be able to send that person a very polite email that succinctly explains how much you are interested in getting hired and would be happy to provide more information about yourself anytime that is convenient. Such communications can often show that you are proactive and know how to use electronic communication in an effective manner.
When doing anything like this, however, remember the basic rules of the road that I just mentioned: be polite, address the recipient of your email by his or her full name, clearly identify yourself and how to contact you, and don’t be too informal.
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