Email Etiquette: Ensure Your Emails Get Read - Not Deleted

Email has become a standard and acceptable method of business communications.

Recruiters like myself use email to forward job searchers' resumes to employers and we sometimes get job offers for candidates through email as well.

Email etiquette is often an ignored and forgotten part of sending emails and it's too bad because your emails give the recipient of the message clues about your writing skills and your professionalism.

It is especially true if you are emailing a potential employer and send them an email that breaks a number of common sense email rules that could turn them off considering you for a job.

Here are some tips to keep your emails professional and ensure they get read:

1. Always include a relevant subject line that quickly states what your email is about. 2. Keep work emails professional. 3. Always open your email with an appropriate salutation such as "Dear Joe" or "Hi Mary" or something similar. 4. Remember to close the email with some sort of signature such as your first name if you know the person you're sending the email to. Consider using a signature with your full name and contact details for correspondence going outside your company. 5. Remember to consider the tone of your email. Written comments can be misinterpreted and can be open to interpretation in ways other than what you meant. 6. Try to keep emails as brief as possible. Try to get your point across quickly. 7. Don't type emails IN ALL CAPS! 8. Ensure attachments you send to other people do not contain viruses. Use an email virus scanner to prevent you sending or receiving email viruses. 9. Be careful with what emails you forward to other people. If you receive a sensitive or confidential email from someone else, don't assume you can forward it to other people. 10. Don't send emails when you are angry especially if you might regret it after clicking the Send button. Remember that emails give your recipient a hard copy of what you've written. 11. Remember to check your spelling and grammar. Just like you don't want to have typos in your resume, your emails should show evidence that you actually proofread your work before sending. 12. Don't mark your emails as "urgent" unless they are. 13. Learn how and when to use the CC and BCC features especially when sending an email to a large group of people. 14. Respond to emails in a timely fashion and don't make people wait for your reply.

When trying to determine proper email etiquette, use common sense and pay attention to the details before clicking Send.