Today I learned about many aspects that make up a good email. Honestly, I thought that I was pretty well informed on how to conduct the perfect email, but after sitting through this seminar, I did learn many new things. First of all, I found out that it is ok to do a little bit of online stalking on the person you are trying to email. For example, going to a person’s LinkedIn page can tell you more about them, and the types of work or research that they have done in the past. This is especially helpful when writing to a possible employer. Having some background information on what they do is important and it shows them that you did your research. Inserting relevant information in the email is something that will get the employer intrigued and willing to reply.

Another important aspect of an email is the subject line. It is important that you put something in there instead of leaving it blank. It should be short and descriptive. Basically, you want to make the subject line something that a person would want to click, so that they can actually read your email instead of leaving it unopened.

During the seminar we talked about some common mistakes that could lead to an email never getting a reply. If you spell the recipients name incorrectly, they may get annoyed and refuse to respond. Also, a large amount of grammar mistakes represents a lack of effort, and this might also lead to no response. Lastly, if an email is to long and wordy, the recipient may not want to read through it, and thus they may never respond.

When writing emails it is good to be brief and to the point. Make sure to include something in the subject line, and to introduce yourself in the beginning of the email.

Lastly, if you do not get a response within a week or two, you should probably send a kind follow up message.

I learned a lot about formatting and devising emails from this seminar. I am now more cognizant of the way I speak to people online, and now will probably double (or even triple) check every single email I send!