How to improve your e-mail etiquette on Shine from Yahoo
Saying 'Goodbye' Is the Hardest Part of an E-mail from the Washington Post
‘Yours Truly,’ the E-Variations from the New York Times
Thinking about the many e-mails I receive each day at our generic "apply here" e-mail (careers@redpointtech.com if anyone's interested), I thought I'd amuse myself with an audit of openings and closings from the last two months of applicants. It's purely unscientific (a sampling of only 138 e-mails), but I was curious how job seekers were approaching blind e-mails. Here's the breakdown:
Other openers included: Dear Recruiter / Technical Recruiter; Dear SPR Inc.; Dear Recruiting Manager; To whom it may concern; Dear Sir (yes, more than one); Human Resources; Dear HR Executive; Dear Employer; Greetings; Good morning; Attn H.R.; and Dear Mr. / Mrs.
Other closings included: Best Regards; Thank you; Yours Sincerely; Thank you for your time; Respectfully; and Cheers.
A few observations:
- I found it oddly formal for so many people to opt for the opening address of "Dear Sir / Madam." Incidentally, many of the e-mails starting with this address opted for "madame," which is, strictly speaking, not an appropriate usage unless you are addressing married French woman.
- I was equally surprised by the very large number of e-mails opening with a simple and perhaps too informal "Hi."
- I attributed the large number of e-mails with no openers (21) and no closer (16) to laziness and the somewhat anxiety-producing fact that it was a blind e-mail address. I preferred the comparatively fewer e-mails that used "Dear Hiring Manager" or just generically addressed my company by name.
- Tip: When I get an e-mail that says "Hello ," I can tell you're using a mail merge. Thanks for making me feel special.
- I'm not one who has ever put much stock in mass mailing candidates. These same criticisms apply equally to lazy recruiters who want to blast out opportunities to their candidate databases. There are ways to craft a personalized e-mail and check your work that do not appear crass and feckless, friends.
- My least favorite approach is to find a one-liner introduction such as the one I came across in the middle of July: "Please find my resume attached." No, I refuse to find it since you refuse to introduce yourself! The only thing you shall find is my recycling bin.
- I also received one e-mail with nothing but a "Sincerely," and contact information. No preamble and no explanation of what you're interested in and why earns you a speedy deletion.
- Here was another e-mail. This was the entirety of the text: I am an Excel VBA developer. Please review my attached resume and cover letter. Seeing that all of our position descriptions are for software engineers who specialize in Java or .NET, your completely mismatched and lazy introduction is hardly likely to even get your resume document opened. In fact, I did not and still have not. No offense. In fact, thanks for saving me the time.
- But even this is better than getting nothing at all but an attachment or simply copying the position description. Thank you, but I already know the text of my position description.
- "Looking for your response" was one of my favorite closers. The presumption of such a closing just made me chuckle.
E-mail is a wonderful medium for quick, meaningful communication, but abusing it in a business context can cost you opportunities.
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4 comments:
An interesting post. Thank you.
I did miss hearing what opening and closing to a blind email you prefer. You covered the extremes very well. Should I infer that the middle options are what you think is best?
Yes, I thought that the best options were Dear Employer and Sincerely--moderate and polite approaches when you don't know who will be reviewing your resume and introduction letter. Thanks for the comment!
It's an interesting challenge to make a connection with a blind mailbox. Your suggestions are useful - thanks.
On a separate note, what's your or your company's policy on responding to the applicants that take the time to send their resume, qualified or not? One of the challenges in the area of "polite" e-mail contact is the general belief that the recruiter or firm has no need to respond in any form to a solicited resume (e.g. an apply here button or advertised position.) My personal belief is that it is not unreasonable to send ALL applicants a "Dear Applicant" thank you letter which does not comment on their qualifications but simply acknowledges that their interest has been noted.
My reasons for the recognition are simple. It confirms that the information has been successfully received and it creates a positive image of the firm's interest in the individual. Most firms have the potential to interact with past applicants as future clients, colleagues and/or future employees. Why waste goodwill when it costs so little to maintain it?
Your thoughts?
Hi Donald,
Thanks for the thoughtful response to my post!
I certainly agree that there ought to be some sort of automated response to all applicants and while I know that the application system at our company responds to those who respond to a specific ad, I checked the address that this post was based on this evening and learned that we don't have an automated response set up for it.
Thanks for helping me to uncover a hole in our process. I've taken steps to set up a polite acknowledgment for that address.
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