Making E-mail Work For You
Email has revolutionized how we communicate. It is quick and easy and therefore often has a casual tone. Sometimes this tone can work against you. If you are writing to alumni or other contacts for information interviews, it is best to sound like a professional. Since alumni and others want to help you, you'll want to make a positive first impression! There is a good chance that subsequent eemails will become more casual, but in the beginning we recommend a more formal tone and introduction.
Review the following tips for some key points:
THE TEXT
- Make sure that your subject line is filled in and clear
- Use a writing style similar to a cover letter.
- Err on the side of being too formal rather than informal
- Address new contacts as Ms. or Mr.
- DO NOT USE ALL CAPS (it's considered screaming)
- If writing to a Brown alum, you may want to include your concentration and class year.
- Be sure that what you are asking for is appropriate. (The BRUnet network, for example, has a specific purpose with guidelines and protocol.)
- Use a formal closing similar to a letter.
- Signatures (identifying information at the bottom of the message) are not recommended, especially with quotes
- Proofread and spell check!
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
- Make sure your email address is professional.
- Re: Attaching a resume. Potential problems include incompatible systems, incompatible programs, and the fear of viruses in attachments. If the resume is solicited, ask in what format they would like to receive your document. If the resume is not solicited, we recommend including your unformatted resume in the body of the email in addition to including it as an attachment. That way if the attachment will not open, the person to whom you are sending it will still have your information. At the beginning of your email, state something like, "I am attaching my resume as a Word document. In case there is a problem, I've also included it unformatted at the end of this email."
- Edit the original message in your replies. When replying to a message, re-send a few summarizing lines of the original message to give your response context. Do not resend the entire message.
- Check out your email configuration by sending it to yourself.
- It warrants repeating: Proofread, proofread, proofread!
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