ఇంజినీరింగ్‍లో కాలేజిలో చేరబోతున్నారా? ఇలా చేస్తే మీ విజయం ఖాయం

Email Etiquette

-Vivekanand Rayapeddi

+91 9246371893

E.Mail: vrpanand@gmail.com

Let us begin with a wonderful quotation given by Robin Sharma.

“The first step in unleashing the talent of your team is to unleash the talent inside of you”

-Robin Sharma

E-mail is the gift of the modern technology. Let us use it more effectively and get maximum benefits through it.

Most of us do not know how to send the formal e.mail. Sending your resume through e.mail is one such formal occasion.

It is observed that even well qualified people too do not know the difference between a personal mail and formal mail.

It is essential to follow the email etiquette especially when you are sending formal emails. First let us understand what etiquette is.

Etiquette is pronounced as etiket.

Etiquette – is defined as “the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life”

Let us see this funny situation in a corporate office.

Sam opened his mail box.

Sam  is the HR Manager of a software giant. He got many mail in response to their recent ad  in the appointment columns of leading national news papers and web portals.

The expression on Sam’s face changed suddenly. The colours on his face so rapidly.

Disgust, angry, irritation, indignity all got reflected in a single moment. There are number of mails from various candidates are listed in the ‘unread’ column in the ‘inbox’

The sender’s address of the very first mail, caused all these feelings in him.

It read as ‘i.rock.you.suck69@zapmail.com’

He didn’t even open it. His face got red in anger. He deleted it unceremoniously.

Then he proceeded with the other mails.

This is not a rare situation these days. In fact that mail could be from a very talented guy, who may deliver the goods, who may turn the tables if he Is taken.

But the very first impression is awful. His resume went unnoticed. He lost the basic chance of getting his credentials noticed. Whose fault is it?

So, friends at the outset you need to be careful in choosing your E-mail ID.

You may sound cheap, irresponsible and manner less youth if you use awkward sounding, filthy and obscene words in your mail ID

Make your ID as simple as possible. Your name is the first bet. Sometimes the most common names like raju,srinivas, suman etc might have got already registered. In that case even the service provider suggests you the available IDs with your name combination in the form of ‘prompts’.

Choose something which is liked by you and which is simple as well.

This is the first and foremost step.

 Don’t forget to elevate your image through your choice of e-mail ID

Every official e-mail should contain

·         Subject line

o   This is the first thing that gets the attention of the recipients. You need to make it as much relevant to the body as possible. Based on the subject line, the recipient makes up his mind to read the mail

·         Salutation

o   Always start the mail by greeting the recipient. You can use ‘Dear’ before the name. Mr. before the name of a male recipient and Ms. before the name of a lady recipient, irrespective of her marital status. Mind you, Miss and Mrs are outdated prefixes. The progressive women prefer Ms to ‘Miss or Mrs’ for obvious reasons. If you are not addressing on a first name basis, use their job title.

·         Concise body

o   Don’t beat about the bush. Always come straight to the point. Let your language be not filled with too many technicalities and jargon.  The recipient should get a kind of feel that you are speaking to him just by sitting in the opposite chair in his chamber, of course in a formal way. This is an unwritten rule followed by the experts.

·         Sign off

o   Always ensure to sign off your mail. The phrases like ‘yours sincerely’, ‘yours faithfully’ are always acceptable for formal emails. One of the most common errors is ‘your’s’, it  is wrong to use apostrophe here.

Now let us come to the important tips for effective email.

1.    Introductions are important

Always introduce yourself if you are writing to someone who you don’t know or haven’t corresponded with previously. If you have got the recipient’s address through a mutual friend, mention his name in your correspondence.

2.      Always check the spellings

It is important to run spell check for official mail. Proof read it over and over again. Take second party opinion in case you are in doubt. Ensure your grammar and punctuation is perfect. Your mail should be perfect in terms of grammar, punctuation and spellings.

A Spelling Mistake means two things. Either you don’t know the spelling (That’s bad) Or you didn’t care (That’s worse).

3.       Use Reply-All feature Sparingly

Use the reply-all feature for an email that really needs it. If the reply is meant for only one person, just reply to him.

4.       Use BCC for Generic Mails

Use BCC (blind the carbon copy) field for when you are sending out mails to a very large number of people who may not all know each other. It is also a way to ensure that all your contact’s addresses are not out there for people unknown to them to access.

5.       Restrict the number of attachments you send

End heavy files via file-hosting services so that you don’t clog the recipient’s inbox. If you know that the recipient is accessing his email on a smart phone, don’t send several attachments with it.

6.       Zip the attachments

Zip attached files.  Three reasons for this:

1. Reduces file size
2. Protects against firewalls stripping attachments

c.       If multiple attached files, makes easier to unpack

7.       Don’t use too many abbreviations

If you use too many abbreviations in your mail, the recipient may get confused. Abbreviations like FYI, PFA,PDF or FYR may not be understood by everyone.

8.       Use of caps and bold fonts

Do not use too many caps and bold fonts. The recipient may get an impression that you are shouting at him. If a large amount of text is underlined in the middle, it will also give the same kind of feeling to the recipient.

9.       Watch your tone

Always be careful about how your email sounds. It may be a formal occasion, but it should not sound too abrupt and sans human angle. You should sound humane. You should not sound overfriendly either, especially if this is the first time you are corresponding with the recipient.

10.   Forward the mail after trimming it

Trim the mail before forwarding it others. Clean up all the list of previous recipients etc. Not only does this make the email look cleaner, but it also ensures that you don’t give away anyone else’e email addresses.

11.   Emote Icons

Do not use emote icons when it comes to formal emails. Always use simple sentences to express your feelings.

12.   Send a test mail

If you are sending email to the recipient for the first time, and if it is very important and confidential document, it is advised to confirm the email ID of the recipient by sending a test mail.

13.   Choose the words carefully

Remember the written word, unlike a conversation, can be interpreted/mis-interpreted very easily.  Choose your words carefully.

14.   Acknowledge the mail

Even if you don’t have time to “fully” respond to an email, be sure to let the sender know you have received it. Later you can respond to it in a leisurely way.

15.   Final check

Have a final check before you press the ‘send’ button. Ensure that the mail is going to the right recipient you intended to send. Check the spellings once again. Ensure that all the attachments that you wanted to send are attached properly.

If you follow the above principles you will always have trouble free email experience.

All the best