Career Girl using email

Career Girl Monday is a little late but GREAT! How to make a great email impression to a potential employer. You don't want to lose a potential job because your email is unprofessional

1. Sharing an email account with a spouse. Employers don't want to feel like they are emailing job-related correspondence to your significant other. If your email address makes it clear that someone shares it with you (like crystalanddany@youemail.com), then it's time to get your own separate email account.

2. Using an unprofessional email signature. If your email signature contains political or religious messages, long quotations, or inspirational messages, usually that is a turn off and you are signaling that you don't know what's appropriate for professional communications.

3. Using unusual fonts and symbols. There's a fairly narrow range of acceptable fonts for emails. If you're using Comic Sans, you're going to come across as unprofessional and a bit uncomfortable with technology. A good email font is one that doesn't make the reader think about what font you used.

4. Using email stationery. Email isn't a written letter; it doesn't require stationery. Using borders of flowers around your email text looks tacky and unprofessional.

5. Making recipients jump through anti-spam hoops to respond. We all want to get less spam, but if you make someone fill out an anti-spam form to get their email through to you, then you might find that some employers just don't bother. I just hate it when earthlink did that to me, and now some yahoo accounts have that.

6. Not checking your spam folder. If you're conducting a job search, make sure that you check your spam folder every day. A surprising number of emails from employers can end up in there.

7. Sending one email with your resume and cover letter to multiple employers. Whether you put them all in the "to" line or bcc them all, there's no better way to signal that you're just mass-mailing your materials out, rather than conducting a customized, targeted job search.

8. Having an unprofessional address. If you like to traverse the Web as "Sexy Mama" or "Partying Paul," get a different email address for job searching. Get something plain and simple.

9. Using your work account to apply for other jobs. A surprising number of resume submissions come from candidates' current work email address. If you're using work time to search for another job, employers will assume you'll do the same to them.

Comments

  1. This may not look like a big deal, but a lot have lost the opportunity to be hired because of their email address. It's important to keep in mind that upon application, your email address needs to look professional as well.

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