Professional Email Etiquette

By: Kandice Thorn

Repeat after me: "Email correspondence is professional correspondence."

We live in a world where email is frequently our primary method of communication. We send our friends two line emails to make plans; we dot our correspondence with smiley faces; we use abbreviations and slang. But it is important to remember that, in the professional world, email correspondence should reflect your professionalism and should be treated with the same level of care you would have used in drafting a hard copy letter in the days of yore.
    

A few tips to keep in mind:

• DO begin with an appropriate opening ("Dear _____,"). If you are writing to a specific person, be sure to use his or her name correctly. If you are unsure whether the person you are writing to is a man or woman, try doing a Google search of either the full name or just the first name (as someone who receives frequent emails addressed to "Mr. Thorn," I can tell you it is very annoying when people don't take the time to figure out your gender). When addressing a woman, use "Ms.," not "Mrs." If you are writing to a generic email address and you don't know who will receive your email, use "Dear Sir or Madam."  
• DO NOT use emoticons in professional correspondence. Ever. 
• DO NOT use abbreviations. Spell words out. "You" should be written "you," not "u." "Your" should be "your," not "ur." And so on and so on (I think you get the point). 
• DO NOT use slang.  
• DO double check your spelling (including capitalization), grammar, and punctuation. Remember that even your email will be viewed as a sample of your written communication skills.  
• DO end with an appropriate closing like "Kind regards" or "Best regards," followed by your first and last name, unless you are on a first-name basis with the person.