Email Etiquette Examples:
Our digital world makes it easier to find relevant jobs. Our social media platforms, communication forums, and professional networking communities facilitate easy email correspondence with potential employers throughout the job application process. But because email correspondence is so easy, professionals should be aware of the unspoken ‘rules’ concerning business email etiquette. This article will provide several email etiquette examples to help job seekers leave a good impression.
Keep in mind that email etiquette is more than just monitoring what you type within the email.
Use a Professional Email Account
Using an unprofessional or inappropriate email address can raise doubts about your suitability for the company or role. As a job seeker, you should consider your email address as part of your personal brand.
Enhancv just published an article stating that 76% of job applicants are ignored if the applicant’s email address is deemed unprofessional.
So what is considered unprofessional?
Don’t use a shared email account.
Don’t share your job search or professional networking email account with a roommate, sibling, partner, or spouse. Recruiters and hiring managers want to dialogue directly with you. Not only will they be unimpressed when they receive an email from jimmyanddiane@dontdothis.com, but they will also be concerned with sharing private information about your candidacy.
Never conduct a job search using your current work email address.
This seems like a ‘no-brainer’ but we often see folks use their current work email address when contacting us for open positions. And we aren’t alone. According to Enhancv, 13% of those polled admitted to using their company email to conduct a job search in 2024.
Why would you do that?
Aren’t you (as the candidate) concerned that your current employer will frown upon that behavior? On the receiving side, I certainly frown on it. It raises serious concerns about your ethics and professionalism.
Informal email addresses will reduce your credibility.
You also want to refrain from using email addresses that are too personal or extremely informal. For example, a candidate using divaprincess@domain.com reached out to me once.
Maybe she thought she was being funny or quirky, but I found it quite negative. Perhaps my previous experience working with divas, mean girls, and princesses caused me to be immediately turned off by her outreach. Maybe she was an excellent candidate. But I never found out because I didn’t review her credentials. Ultimately, I couldn’t shake the concern I had about her judgment in using such an unprofessional email while attempting to network or job search.
How to select a professional email address.
For those of you who have changed your name (married, divorced, etc), ensure the email address you use for the job search matches the name you go by.
This includes the use of nicknames. Your resume, cover letter, social media profiles, and email address will better represent your professional brand if you are consistent in the name used across all platforms.
You may want to consider setting up an email account just for job searching and professional networking. This will ensure your job search and networking emails don’t get mixed up with your personal messages.
Ideally, your job search or professional networking email address will be firstnamelastname@gmail.com. And yes, the use of gmail.com is on purpose. Unless you have a branded domain, we recommend using Gmail for better deliverability (and receivability).
Include a Signature
All of your important contact information should be included in an email signature. At a minimum, include your full name, email address, and phone number. If possible, include a link to your LinkedIn profile and if you have created a branded style for your resume and cover letter, consider using the same style (fonts, colors, and graphics) in your signature.
As a side note, steer clear of adding quotes to your signature as it may be seen as unprofessional. Worst case, it may distract or offend a potential hiring manager. Best case, it will likely detract from the point of the email.
Format it Like a Business Letter
Emails should not be one long paragraph of words. Research shows that including a moderate amount of whitespace in emails improves readability and visual appeal. Therefore, the formatting should mirror that of a typical business letter. Use clearly defined paragraphs with spaces between. The entire message should be left-justified and either single-spaced or spaced at 1.15.
And for goodness sake, proofread for errors. While the percentages of rejections vary across surveys, hiring managers consistently reject candidates due to misspellings, typos, and grammatical errors.
Be Brief and Concise
Research from Litmus shows that people spend about 9-12 seconds reading an email. And a Boomerang study states that for an email to be effective, it should be between 50-125 words.
The reality is that hiring managers will not read a long email from a job candidate. Most hiring managers use email services such as Outlook, which show an email preview that is usually the first 4-5 sentences of the email before it is opened. Therefore, focus on including all relevant and important information at the front of your email.
You want to hook your reader quickly, so they stay engaged throughout the entire message.
Salutations Can Be Tricky
If you know the person you are writing to, address your email directly to that person. But be formal.
For example, you would send an email to me with the salutation “Dear Ms. Roberts” instead of “Good morning, Angela”. You should only use the hiring manager’s first name under the following circumstances:
- I introduce myself as Angela on a call or interview. Therefore, you can call me Angela moving forward.
- You call me Ms. Roberts and I give you permission to use my first name.
- We build a relationship (which is the goal).
Side note – never (never) revert to using a nickname without gaining permission from the other party. Angela is Angela (not Angie). Susan is Susan (not Sue). Robert is Robert (not Bobby).
But what if you don’t know the receiver’s name?
I delete a couple of emails a week that are addressed to ‘Dear Sirs’. Why…why…why would anyone send me an email using such an egregiously incorrect salutation?
The point of your email is to get personal. And when you trip over the opening salutation by being thoughtless and transactional, you show me that you aren’t a critical thinker. Even worse, by sending me an email titled ‘Dear Sirs’, you are showing me that even when you should be on your best behavior you revert to pattern and habit.
Think.
As a side note, some experts will tell you to address the email to ‘Dear Hiring Manager’. I don’t completely disagree with that advice, but I feel it is more efficient to just move into the first paragraph of your message if you don’t know the receiver’s name.
And speaking of the first paragraph…
Don’t Waste Email Real Estate With Meaningless Opening Phrases.
A list of email etiquette examples wouldn’t be complete without telling you to get right to the point of the message. While you want to be polite, don’t waste important space with phrases like “I hope you are doing well and staying safe”.
You don’t care if I am doing well and staying safe. But you do care about the job I am offering. Be clear about the reason you are writing. In fact, I recommend you start the first paragraph with a sentence like “I am writing to you today to express my interest in…”.
Simple and direct.
How do You Send Your Email?
Before you hit that send button, test it. Send the email to yourself and two to three colleagues so it can be thoroughly checked before you send it to the recruiter or hiring manager.
Do not mass email your resume and cover letter to several employers at the same time. Do not use the Bcc option either. Your resume and cover letter should be tailored for each position to increase your chances of being selected for an interview.
I do, however, recommend you openly copy yourself when you send the email. File it, being sure to keep track of all applications, follow-ups, and responses.
Other Common Failures
Here are some additional areas to consider:
- Always include a clear subject line in your email. I recommend listing the position as well as your name so the receiver can either route the email to the right person or easily find it later.
- Do not use your email’s “stationary” feature. Emails with background images or color make it hard to read. And unless you are applying for a graphic design position, colorful stationary emails will detract from your brand as a serious professional.
- Avoid ornate or difficult-to-read fonts. Instead, use an easy-to-read font such as Arial. Also, make sure the font size is between 10 to 12 point and all words are in black or standard color.
- Unless a word is grammatically correct in all capitals (IBM, as an example), refrain from writing words in all caps. Not only will spell check not identify misspellings when words are in all capitals, but it is unnecessary.
- While you want to express enthusiasm in the tone of your email’s message, do not use bold or colorful font to indicate excitement or importance.
- Never use slang, acronyms, or emoticons. You must represent yourself as a professional in every interaction.
In Conclusion
You have worked hard to build your resume and cover letter. You have also put a lot of effort into finding the right job for you. Don’t let these email etiquette examples negate your efforts.
Have questions? Contact us and we will help where we can.