Email has become a major source of communication.
It's so easy to send an email, even
in the middle of a busy workday or on the go
right from your phone.
But really, so many people find themselves writing
multiple emails on the daily.
But while sending an email may be a simple, effective way
to communicate, there are still several rules
that should be followed to ensure that you're
communicating professionally.
How's it going, everybody?
Welcome back to Indeed Career Tips.
I'm Sinead, and today we are sharing
six secrets for professional email
etiquette in the workplace.
And if you stick around until the very end,
we'll send you off with a tactic that
will help avoid all that back and forth email communication.
All right, let's get to it.
So what is email etiquette, anyway?
Simply put, email etiquette is the use
of appropriate language, which shows whomever
you're speaking to that you care about your relationship
with them, value your professional integrity,
and that you represent the company in a positive manner.
When communicating with business clients, colleagues, or even
your potential boss, there is a certain level of formality
that is expected from you.
So say that you've completed your second interview
with a company, and now it's time to send
that follow-up thank you email.
If your email is written poorly or includes grammatical errors,
you may risk being overlooked for the position,
and we definitely do not want that.
So our first rule of thumb ensures
that you're taken seriously from the moment your email reaches
their inbox.
Rule number one, use a professional email address.
Using a professional email address
is one aspect of quality email etiquette.
Think about how many emails you don't open because your email
provider doesn't even trust the email address enough
to keep it in your primary inbox to begin with.
In a professional setting, the recipient
should be able to identify who an email is from right away.
So try creating an address that includes
your first and last name, so that recipients
can see who is sending the email,
versus an address that showcases a hobby you enjoy.
OK, so now let's say that you are already
a working professional, you work at a big company,
or maybe you're full-time, chances
are your company has provided you with an email address
already.
So you don't need to worry about this step,
but just note that if you're responding
to an email within your organization
you should always use your company email address,
not your personal.
All right, now let's move on to rule number two.
But before we do, go ahead and give this video a big
thumbs up so that we know it has been useful to you.
And be sure to Subscribe while you're at it.
So that you never miss out on our weekly Career Tips.
Rule number two, use a clear subject line.
Identifying who an email is from and what the email is about
helps the receiver determine whether or not
that particular email deserves an immediate response.
Yeah, it's true.
When writing a subject line you want
to quickly convey to the recipient
what your email is regarding.
If your subject line is vague or overly casual,
the person that you're emailing may just
hit Delete or leave you unread.
So be actionable.
Have a call to action in the subject line
and make sure your message is clearly communicated.
So try to consider who you are writing to, what their role is,
and/or the responsibilities they have.
Why you're writing and what the goal of your email is.
If you're interviewing for a job,
the subject line may look something like--
job application for graphic designer: Summer Stevens.
Lauren Ramirez-- application for Senior Architect position.
Now, for even more tips on communicating clearly
in the workplace, be sure to check out this video right up
here.
All right, now we're moving on to rule number three.
Ensure your tone of voice is professional.
Part of having email etiquette is speaking like a pro,
being direct and informative in your approach.
Even if you are friends outside of work
or you know this person really well,
try to refrain from getting too friendly with your words
and your phrases.
Always strive to be as professional as possible.
Avoid abbreviated phrases or overly casual language.
And while we're at it, emojis do count as overly casual.
So avoid popping those into your professional emails.
I know, yes, they are so fun to use,
but emojis could actually send a message that you're
too playful, which could be hard to take seriously
in the workplace.
Now, here is an example of an email
using a professional tone.
"Dear Ms. Morgan, are you available to meet on Wednesday
at 2 PM to discuss your payment plan?
Please respond at your earliest convenience.
I appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely, Tom Brown."
In this example, Tom is clear, concise, and direct
which most professionals appreciate.
He gets right to the point by asking about Ms. Morgan's
availability, and he even suggests a specific time
to meet.
He also ends the message with gratitude,
which always goes a long way.
And now here is a pro tip for you.
If you find that you often have to set time
to meet with others, use a scheduling tool
to book meetings.
These tools, one, speed up the scheduling process.
Two, help enable more responses.
Three, lockdown down more meetings.
And four, offer calendar integration.
So you get reminders for when you're meeting is set to occur.
Sending emails back and forth, desperately
trying to find a time that meets both parties availability
can be inefficient.
So always do your best to make scheduling a meeting with you
easy.
Seriously, give it a try.
And then be sure to check out this video
to strengthen your relationships at work.
Rule number four, avoid grammar and spelling mistakes,
and missing attachments.
Now, I think we're all guilty of misspelling words or misusing
punctuation at times, but the best email etiquette
requires a bit of proofreading before hitting Send.
This is so easy to do, but also so easy to forget.
Think about the last time you saw a mistake
on a professional publication or blog,
how did you view that brand?
Now, think about how grammatical errors in an email that you
send can come across.
Proofreading is crucial.
So let's review what good proofing looks like.
Start with the attachments.
If the email requires an attachment,
make sure the file is actually attached.
It's pretty easy and efficient to just add any attachments
as soon as you start composing your email.
Because there is nothing worse than having
to send that second email that says,
whoops, here's that document I meant to attach.
Now, check the recipient name.
Is it spelled correctly?
Did you select the correct email address for this person?
Moving on to your subject line.
Is your subject clear, concise, and grammatically correct?
Onto the body of your email, do the key points of your email
make sense?
How does spelling and punctuation look?
And your signature, is this up-to-date?
Are there certain details that you'd
like to include for certain email recipients?
And here is another pro tip for you.
Download plugins that will help with grammar and punctuation.
For example, Grammarly will not only
review spelling and punctuation, but it will even evaluate tone
and whether or not your message is clear.
This can help you gauge where your quality stand
on the spectrum of writing.
Rule number five, reply as promptly as you can.
Now, you're likely not expected to respond
to every single email that you get immediately.
But it is good etiquette to respond
to emails in a timely fashion.
And this is especially true for clients or other emails that
may be pressing in nature.
But what happens if you have to give feedback in an email,
or respond to a complicated conversation?
Or what if you just receive unexpected news?
All of these types of situations can understandably
take a little bit longer to address.
And you may literally find yourself at a loss for words.
So take some time away, relax, and try
to regroup before putting pen to paper, or hands to keyboard.
Or create a draft and come back to it
when you feel prepared, because remember
it is hard to interpret tone over email.
So take your time to craft the proper response.
Now, sometimes in order to get any work done,
we have to silence our email notifications.
But just be sure to set aside time.
Maybe the first hour or the last hour
of your day to catch up on all that email correspondence.
Researchers suggest that once we get distracted from a task,
it takes us about 23 minutes to refocus again
on what we were doing.
So be sure to dedicate time specifically for emailing
and leave the rest to productivity.
And here is another pro tip for you.
If you are going to be taking time off of work,
make sure to set an out-of-office reply message.
Set expectations on when you'll be back to address the email.
And just to be extra thorough, be
sure to include a person or a colleague
that your recipients can reach out to if they do
end up needing immediate assistance.
Moving on to rule number six, adjust your Undo Send settings.
Have you ever sent an email and instantly regretted it?
Maybe you had a typo, misinformation
listed in your email, or maybe you just sent the wrong message
to the wrong person.
Situations like these can feel like
an actual virtual emergency.
So the good news is there is a tool to prevent this.
In Gmail, click on the gear icon in the top right-hand corner.
From there, you'll see all settings.
And if you scroll down, you will see an option
to change the Send cancelation period.
Now, if you scroll a little bit further,
you have the option to adjust other settings
like default reply behavior.
You can change this from reply to reply all, and vice versa.
Default text style-- if you prefer a certain format,
customize that here.
Grammar, spelling suggestions, and autocorrect can be enabled.
Cruise over to the Settings to see for yourself.
And for my Outlook friends, don't worry,
I did not forget about you.
The gear icon should take you to the settings as well.
Here you can customize your Undo Send settings, as well as
other email settings that may help you work more efficiently.
Now, most email hosts do have the setting,
so be sure to check us out so you can take back what is said,
just in case you make an email oops.
What are some of your favorite email etiquette tips?
Head down to the comments and let
us know because we would love to know what is working for you.
Thank you all so much for watching,
and be sure to this video, hit that Subscribe button,
and of course, also the notification bell
down below so you can tune in with us next week
for Indeed's Career Tips.
I'm Sinead, and we'll see you next time.
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