Professionalism in Emails: Five Pro Tips
Email etiquette, especially in a remote environment, is key to communicate respect, streamline communication, and reflect positively on your company. The Beyond TalentEdge team is all about providing you with all of the tools you need to succeed. Keep reading for five pro tips on maintaining professionalism in your email correspondence between yourself, recruitment managers, and potential employers.
1. Include a Clear and Concise Subject Line.
Emails can easily get buried in an inbox. To ensure that your email gets noticed, as well as make things easier on your recipient, always be sure to add a subject line to your email. Leaving the subject empty can instantly look unprofessional. You’ll want to make it clear right away what you’re emailing about.
2. Double-Check Attachments.
Whenever sending attachments with an email, there are a few factors you’ll want to take into consideration. First and foremost, avoid sending large files over email whenever possible. If you need to email a large file, it’s best to use a cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox, and pass on the link to the file instead.
If you are attaching a file directly, make sure to double-check the file name, and acknowledge the attachment in the email body.
3. Keep it Concise.
State the purpose of your email right at the start, making it clear right away why you are reaching out. It’s common to receive dozens or even hundreds of emails every day, so getting right to the point will make it easier for the recipient to reply to you, and no one will feel that their time is being wasted. You’ll want to keep your email between 3-5 lines of text whenever possible. If you find that you can’t communicate everything at that length, you may want to reconsider whether it may be more efficient to schedule a meeting.
4. Shorten Your URLs.
Copying long URLs right into the email body can make the email look messy or unnecessarily long. To maintain a clean and clear email, hyperlink whenever possible. If you do need to provide a direct link, try shortening it using a service like Bitly.
5. Be Mindful of Using “Reply All.”
To avoid confusion or an unnecessary number of follow-ups, make sure you are using the “Reply All” function where appropriate. If your response pertains to others on the chain, they should be kept in the loop. At the same time, you don’t want to overuse this function and clutter someone’s inbox with email threads that don’t pertain to them. Take a second to think about who should be on your responses, and ensure that all appropriate parties are CC’d.
Beyond TalentEdge is here to provide you with all of the tools you need to be successful. Although focusing on email etiquette may seem trivial, it can make the biggest difference in how you come across to others.