ProfessionalJobSearch EmailEtiquette

Professionalemailisverydifferentfromcasualemailorinstantmessenger.Asemailbecomesincreasinglypopularinthe jobapplicationprocess,youneedtotaketimetothinkthroughthecontentofyouremailandthemessageyoumightbe sendingtoemployers.Remember:itiseasiertoberuledoutthanruledinforaposition.Herearesomerulesto considerwhenwritinganemailinwhichyouarejobprospectingorapplying: MindYourManners:Thinkofthebasicrulesyoulearnedgrowingup,likesayingpleaseandthankyou.Addresspeople youdonotknowasMr.,Ms.,orDr.,onlyaddresssomeonebyfirstnameiftheyimplyitisokaytodoso. Alwaysintroduceyourselfthesamewayyouwouldinacoverletter. DearMr./Ms.SoandSo: PleaseacceptthisletterasanapplicationfortheXYZpositionatABCCompany. Inthesubjectline,makeitobviouswhyyouarewriting:"ApplicationforXYZposition." Ifyouaresendingmultipleemail,makesureyouchangethecontactnameandcontentaccordingtotheperson (s)/companytowhomyouaresendingthemessage.Thisisespeciallyimportantifyouaresendingmultiple thankyounotes. Ifyouarerespondingtoanemail,includetheoriginalmessageinthereply,sothereceivercanputyouremail intothecorrectcontext. Nameyourdocument"yourname,resume."Employersreceivehundredsofresumesviaemail.Ifyoufollowup byaskingrecruitersiftheyreceivedyouremail,theywillnothavetolookthrough300attachmentscalled "resume." Ifyouareattachingyourresume,askthereceiveriftheywouldpreferthatyousenditinadifferentformat,ie: MicrosoftWord,RichTextFormat,orasa.PDF. WatchYourTone:Itisverydifficulttoexpresstoneinwriting.Youwanttocomeacrossasrespectful,friendly,and approachable.Youdonotwanttosoundcurtordemanding. Neveruseallcapitalletters.Employersmaythinkthatyouarescreaming,itcanalsobedifficulttoread. Donotassumethatifanemployerisinformalthatyoushouldbe. BeConcise:Gettothepointofyouremailasquicklyaspossible,butdonotleaveoutimportantdetailsthatwillhelp yourrecipientansweryourquery. BeProfessional:Thismeans,stayawayfromabbreviationsanddonotuseemoticons(smileyfaces).Also,makesurethe emailaddressyouuseforbusinesscommunicationisprofessional.Remember,yourUWLemailaccountexpiresthree monthsafteryougraduate. Thinkaboutthemessageyouremailaddresssends.Keepyouraddresssimple,andavoidunprofessional soundingnameslike"studmuffin"or"partygirl." Donotuseslang.

UseCorrectSpellingandProperGrammar:Donotjustusespellcheck,asitwillnotcatchwordsthatarespelled correctlybutaremisusedwithinthecontextofthesentence.Havesomeoneelseproofreadyourmessagebeforeyou sendit.Itmaybeeasiertofinderrorsifyouprintandreviewyouremail. WaittoFillinthe"TO"EmailAddress:Thiswillkeepyoufromaccidentallysendinganemailprematurely.Itiseasy toaccidentallyclickthesendicon,whenyoureallymeanttoclickontheattachmenticon.

EmailExamples
Youremailcanbeabriefintroduction: To:xyzperson@abccompany.org From:cap@psued.edu Subject:XYZJobApplication DearMs.Clark, ThisemailisinresponsetotheadpostedintheWisconsinStateJournalfortheXYZpositionatABC Company(JobPosting#123).Pleaseaccepttheattachedletterandresumeasmyapplicationforthis position.Myskillsandexperiencecloselyfitthepostedjobdescription,andIhopetohearfromyou soon. Thankyou, JaneStudent (715)4255555 jane.student@yahoo.com Oryouremailcanbeyourcoverletter: To:xyzperson@abccompany.org From:cap@psued.edu Subject:XYZJobApplication DearMs.Clark, ThisemailisinresponsetotheadpostedontheUniversityofWisconsinLaCrosseEagle OpportunitiesforXYZpositionatABCCompany(Job#123).Pleaseaccepttheattachedresumeasan applicationforthisposition.Myeducationalbackgroundandtwoyearsofbankingexperiencefitthe postedjobdescription,andIamexcitedtoapply. AsaBusinessAdministrationstudentattheUniversityofWisconsinLaCrosse,Ihavetaken advantageofnumerousinternshipopportunitiestogainrelevantbankingandcustomerservice experience.ForthepasttwoyearsIhaveworkedasaBankTelleratWellsFargo,whereIwas responsibleforservingcustomers,balancingmydrawerandmentoringnewtellers.Inaddition,I haveservedasthetreasureroftheBusinessAssociationoncampusforthepasttwoyears,studied abroadinScotland,andcompletedafinancialmanagementinternshipthissummer.These experienceshelpedenhancemyleadership,teamwork,customerserviceandtimemanagement skills,whichcanbeusefulatABCcompany.

TheopportunitytobecomeacontributingmemberofABCCompany,andcontinuingthetraditionof friendlyandaccurateserviceexcitesme.AmeetingtolearnmoreaboutyourneedsandhowIcan contributewouldbegreatlyappreciated.Ilookforwardtohearingfromyou. Sincerely, JoeStudent (715)4264444 Joe.student@gmail.com Source:JobWeb.comCareerdevelopmentandjobsearchadvicefornewcollegegraduates.NationalAssociationof CollegesandEmployers,Bethlehem,PA

CareerServices608.785.8514career@uwlax.eduwww.uwlax.edu/careerservices