E-mail Etiquette: It Can Make or Break You

As we approach graduation and the time comes to apply for jobs, send resumes and ask for references, e-mail etiquette could just be what will make or break your future.

This might sound extreme, but potential employers, teachers and/or business professionals looking to possibly hire you or give you a letter of recommendation may be deterred by poor e-mail writing.

Most e-mails are not written correctly. Mistakes can vary, from grammar to punctuation to salutation, but a poorly written e-mail always receives the same results: an equally poor impression.

Check out Brian Zafron’s The Art of E-mail-Writing And How It Can Make or Break Your Business, a nice refresher on e-mail writing and etiquette.

Here, I want to briefly remind you of some tips for writing proper e-mails. Zafron goes in to more detail in his post, so be sure to check it out for further clarification.

Content

1. Make your purpose clear: Say what you need to say in as little words as possible. There is no room for ambiguity in e-mail etiquette. Period.

2. Brand with a meaningful subject line: A straight-forward, explanatory subject line will almost guarantee the receiver reads your e-mail. Confusing, spam-like headers will most likely end up in the trash.

3. Pay attention to tone: E-mails establish relationships with potential employers, business partners, teachers, etc. so it is important to have a compatible tone. Shaky writing might translate into a shaky relationship.

Style

1. Engage people with your sentences: Make your sentences strong; use vivid verbs and concrete language that won’t leave a reader asking questions or feeling confused. Basically, write your e-mails as if you are turning it in to your PR Writing professor; think about how he/she would grade it as an assignment and adjust accordingly.

2. Vary sentence length: No run-ons. Short sentences are better than long ones; this will keep readers engaged.

3. Don’t be a pompous jerk: A potential employer won’t be impressed by your ability to use a thesaurus, so stick to words you already have in your vocabulary. An extensive vocabulary can be an asset (especially for us PR writers) but, overly wordy, unnatural vocabulary can take away from the quality of your message.

Form/Technicals

1. Brevity is key: There it is again. Nobody likes long e-mails. In general, people don’t like to read. So make your e-mail quick and to the point.

2. CC with moderation: Only carbon copy (cc) to parties who are directly in contact with the subject of the e-mail. When in doubt, blind carbon copy (bcc) to conceal the names and addresses of recipients.

3. Throw on your John Hancock: Your signature at the end of an e-mail, along with contact information, provides a great touch of professionalism.

One last tip from me: Consult your AP Style Book. This is especially important for us aspiring PR practitioners who will be sending e-mails to professional PR practitioners.

Like I said before, send out e-mails as if your PR Writing teacher will be editing it. Mind all of these tips and your electronic mail etiquette really could make your transition into the real world of public relations, not break it.

Graduate School? Is it for you?

Spring term, the last term of a four year, undergraduate college education, is rapidly approaching. As seniors about to graduate we are faced with many difficult decisions: Do we move home and live with our parents? Do we travel around Europe for the summer? Do we get a job right away? Do we continue school and get a master’s degree or MBA?

Here, with the help of Les Potter, author of Les is More, I hope to aid you aspiring PR practitioners in the grad school, master’s degree, MBA decision making process. Les recently blogged about this process and offers great advice on whether or not to attend grad school, how to decide, figuring out why and choosing where. Check out his blog post for the whole story.

Les’ advice, that I second, is to ask yourself why do you wish to have a graduate degree? Your answer will lead you directly in to the next important question: in what do you wish to obtain a graduate degree?

Choosing a graduate program can be difficult. Tiffany Derville, assistant professor of Public Relations at the University of Oregon, recommends that students with a background and /or formal education in public relations may prefer the route of an MBA. Professional business skills can be a great asset to public relations knowledge. For those students who do not have formal education in the area of public relations a graduate degree in communications or specifically public relations can become extremely beneficial.

Here’s a tip: go work for at least three to five years in the real world of public relations before making a final decision about graduate education. This real world experience can hone your goals and objectives for your professional experience in public relations and provide you with hands-on experience that will help you in your later studies. Within those three to five years you might even find a job that offers tuition reimbursement programs for education that would further your business performance. Les recommends this in his blog and Tiffany seconds the recommendation.

The real world of public relations is out there ready and waiting for us future grads. I suggest we all take Les and Tiffany’s advice and experience this world for a few years. We have enough decisions to make in the next few months, so if we don’t already know that we want to attend graduate school after graduation, maybe we should take those few years of real world experience to figure it out.

One First Class Ticket. Final Destination: The Real World of Public Relations

Want to learn more about the real world of public relations? Want to meet PR professionals? Want an opportunity to observe public relations in action? Want to really sharpen your skills while building a resume and portfolio?

Look no further than your local college chapter of PRSSA. The Public Relations Student Society of America was founded by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) aiming to cultivate important, lasting relationships between students and professional public relations practitioners.

The mission of PRSSA is to enhance students’ knowledge of public relations, provide access to professional development opportunities and to serve the public relations profession by helping to develop highly qualified, well-prepared professionals.                                                                                                                                 (Image from prssa.org)

PRSSA offers great tools, opportunities and advantages for students planning to enter the professional world of public relations after college.

• PRSSA provides dozens of media for individual members to communicate with the Society’s national leadership; these resources provide opportunities only members can benefit from.

• PRSSA and its sponsors give away $20,000 each year to winners in national scholarship and award competitions.

• PRSSA offers students the opportunity to travel to exciting cities across the country and participate in professional and leadership development programs.

As students we often here, “PR is about who you know.” The most intrinsically valuable benefit of a PRSSA membership is the affiliation with PRSA. PRSA is the ‘who’ to know. With over 20,000 members and 124 chapters, the PRSA/PRSSA relationship offers you a vast majority of potential employers.

PRSSA currently has chapters in all but 5 of the United States. If your college has a PRSSA chapter, get in contact with the chapter president and find out when and where meetings take place.

PRSSA is a once in a lifetime, (4 years in college does feel like a lifetime) experience every public relations student should consider. This truly is your ultimate, first-class ticket into the real world of public relations.