Throughout the placement process you are going to be communicating a great deal through email. You need to get into good habits and ensure that your email communication is building your application up, rather than tearing it down.

Addressing your Emails

Who?

Where possible, always try to address your emails to one person. You can often find this information on company websites or on LinkedIn, but avoid addressing a team or group of people unless the content of the message would concern the entire group.

Hi, Hello or Dear?

"Dear..." is a bit too intimate and connotes a personal relationship but is a safe fall-back if you are looking for upmost formality and politeness.

"Hey" is often thought to be too far in the other direction, too informal.

"Hi" or "Hello" is a good middle ground.

At the end of the day, it is what you choose and feel is most appropriate for the formality and expectations of the role you are applying for.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12247262

Content

Keep it short. Follow the rules presented in the 7 Cs of communication.

A key one is regarding CTAs or a "Call to Action". What is going to happen next, what do you expect of the recipient (if anything)?

Signing off

Again, opinions vary in this area.

"Yours sincerely," is your most formal approach. Use this when making first contact.

"Kind regards," is very common and a safe bet.

"Regards," is perhaps more formal but, why not just add the kind part, it won't hurt.

"Cheers," is probably a no go, unless you have already formed a strong relationship with the recipient, even then this is ill-advised.

Pitfalls

Profile Pictures

Check the profile picture of your Google account or your email provider. A large number of students will have set this years ago and forgotten about it. It could be utterly inappropriate for the setting.

Instead, set your profile picture to a formal face-on picture of yourself.

Your Email Address itself

You NEED a professional email address. This is not voluntary and not something you can get away with.

Anything childish or unprofessional could have you removed from an application process from the outset.

Stick to your full name, followed by some numbers if unavailable. Keep it as simple as possible.

If you want to go the extra mile, purchase your own domain.

Then you will be able to offer an email address like: "hello@judecornish.co.uk". This is a sure-fire way to impress.

Late responses

Keep on top of your emails. Set a reminder each day to check if you have anything outstanding on your end, you don't want to keep an employer waiting or miss a deadline.

In many application processes, you will be immediately removed from the process if you miss a deadline, with no questions asked. I know that this is the case for, PwC.

Forgetting attachments

We've all done it. You state "Please see attached for my CV and Cover Letter." and then you've forgotten to attach the very documents that you have mentioned.

Avoid this situation where possible.

A good practice is to only write about the accompanying documents, while they are attached.

Or even just simply read through your emails and check before sending.

Spelling and Grammar

It is easy to make a mistake when replying to a multitude of similar emails. Of course, double-check before sending, but don't be afraid to utilise tools, such as Grammarly. We have an article solely dedicated to the uses of Grammarly, check it out.