Email Greetings That Get Read

Email Greetings That Get ReadEmail Greetings That Get ReadAccording to BusinessInsider.com, the average employee allocates about 25 percent of his day to slogging through hundreds of emails. While some people need a brush up onbasic email etiquette, others make mistakes simply because theyre overwhelmed with the sheer volume of communications. During your job search, youll likely send many, many emails, including cover letters, thank you notes, and messages to job search-related connections. Take the time to avoid making embarrassing errors, such as misspelling someones anthroponym, and make sure to write notes that get a response. Start With a Professional Greeting Strive for clarity in your subject line.Choose something direct that identifies the purpose of your email, like meeting time changed or quick query about your proposal. Avoid dangling a carrot with a teaser like I need to inform you... that tries to lure the reading into open the email to get at your intention. People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line, so choose one that clearly states your purpose. Use a professional greeting.Include anappropriate greetingfor the circumstances and recipient. Certain greetings work in an email but are not used in a regular letterwhile some greetings work for both. Choose a greeting based on how well you know the person to whom you are writing and the type of message you are sending. For example, if you write to someone you know, Hi Jim is appropriate. Dear Mr./Ms. Smith would be appropriate when applying for a job or writing a business letter. Avoid opening an email with hey which sounds very informal and generally not used in the workplace. Also, shy away from Hi folks or Hi guys, even if the nature of your email is relaxed. Greeting Examples Dear First name Last name(this works well if you dont know the gender of the person youre writing to)Dear First name(when emailing someone you know)Hi First name(When emailing someone you know)Dear Mr./Ms. Last nameDear Mr./Ms. First name Last nameDear Dr. Last nameTo Whom It May ConcernDear Human Resources ManagerDear Hiring Manager Use the proper punctuation after your greeting. For more formal emails, use a semi-colon after the name. For people you know or more casual correspondence, use a comma after the greeting name. Avoid Common Errors When writing an email, the following errors happen sometimes when people rush to dash off a message quickly. Take the time to review your message and perform the following steps. Add the email address last.If you dont have the vorkaufsrecht to unsend an email, add the address last if youtend to have a quick trigger finger. Insert the recipients name only when youre sure your email is ready to go.Avoid the old reply all error.Watch your trigger finger when hitting Reply All. Consider whether everyone on the list really needs to read what you have to say. Also, be mindful of older emails in the chain that you might not want so meone on the Reply All list to see.Go easy on the humor.Humor can be hard to discern in an email since your tone wont necessarily shine through. Without body language, facial expression, or cadence, humor can fall flat or even unintentionally insult a reader. Play it safe and leave it out. Proofread.Dont make the mistake of thinking that people will forgive typos in informal emails or that mistakes will be tolerated if youre typing on your phone. You may be judged harshly by mistakes in your email, especially if theyre rampant. Dont rely on a spellchecker which can often choose the wrong word for you. Proofread your emails just like you would any important document. In particular, always check and double-check that youve spelled peoples names correctly.Dont use emojis or emoticons. More and more, email messages have started to resemble text messages. Workplace messages now sometimes include thumbs-up emojis or smiley faces.Even though theyre becoming more common,avoid emojis and emo ticons in formal correspondence. If your email greeting includes a persons last name, thats a sure sign you should leave off emojis and emoticons. Remember that email lasts forever.Think twice before emailing something personal or confidential, firing someone via email, disparaging someone, or answering with anger. Even deleted emails can be resurrected from data backups. Those kinds of interactions might better be done in person. Apply the 24-hour rule. If youre not sure whether you should send the message, wait until the next day to decide. Another good rule of thumb Dont write anything in an email that you wouldnt be willing to have shared publicly, such as in a deposition, or on social media, for example.