12 Professional Email Etiquette Guidelines

12 Professional Email Etiquette Guidelines Many people now use email as a primary way of communicating with friends, family, co-workers and others who are important to each of us for different reasons. You may be contacting someone about employment, a business venture, following up with customer service or emailing instead of using the telephone. Personal emails sent between friends and family should be treated differently than professional email correspondence. Understand the audience you’re communicating with will determine how casual you can be. Keep the reason for your email clear and concise, especially when using this medium to contact businesses and your co-workers. Forwarding emails to show perceived productivity is never a good idea. Don’t turn business emails into a chat. If you go back and forth with the same person twice, pick up the phone or open a chat window. Email is admissible evidence in court. Do not write anything that you would be afraid to be released to the public From a business perspective many of us have little or no experience as authors or writers. Those who write well are often pressed for time and tend to exclude information from the email enabling them to quickly proceed to the next task. As a result, emails are often sent that exhibit poor use of grammar or punctuation; incorrect spelling; and incomplete, outdated, or conflicting information. There’s an expectation that emails are read, understood and action is taken based on the information contained in the email. Emails are legal documents. An unedited email is not only a reflection of your professionalism, it can also be used against you in court. For example, if you were turning down a proposal and instead of saying you will not be accepting it, you said you will be accepting it (forgetting the not) you could be held accountable. Everything that comes out of your computer is something that can come back to haunt you if you dont take care and attention to really mean what you say and say what you mean. Some of these etiquette suggestions might seem obvious. With apologies to The Golden Rule, ‘email others as you’d like to be emailed.’ These are some guidelines. Not all need to be followed for every audience, as the person emailing you can determine which rule fits best. 12 Guidelines: Return emails within the same timeframe you return phone calls. This may not always be realistic but people want to know you’ve received their correspondence. Include the action you require of the recipient in the email subject line. For example, “Response required or FYI only’ Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. Use capital letters sparingly, if at all, because ‘tone’ can’t also be detected in an email. Use an appropriate font and point size. Write in a positive tone. Avoid negative words and blaming statements as much as possible. When sending an attachment mention what’s being attached and make sure it’s sent. If you realize you forgot to send it, re-send with an apology Deliver the news upfront, whether in a subject line or within the first sentence if possible. Very few people have time to read stories. Think about what you’re writing before you hit the ‘send’ button. Read your message twice and see if the email makes sense. Calm down before responding to a message that offends you. As much as possible avoid ‘reply all’ when emailing. Do not send huge attachments with emails. It’s better to upload on a shared network resource and send people a link. That way messages dont get stuck or clog up business systems Make sure the proper recipients are on the email and make sure you get the names right (don’t write Keith when you mean Kenneth). If things become heated, misunderstandings will probably occur. There are times a phone call may be needed to smooth things over. Everyone has received an email which has angered them. Write your responses and save them as drafts. Let some time go by and open the message again and read it carefully and edit it. This does two things. You get to vent, even if it only to yourself. By sending out a revised and calmer email, things are kept on a professional and constructive level. It’s important to respect everyone’s time. Never send an email that you wouldn’t expect your entire professional and personal network to see. Just because you think something’s important, doesn’t necessarily mean that your email has the same sense of urgency for the person you’re emailing. It’s also important to not include text messaging emoticons and phrases like ‘LOL’ as they can make your message too personal. You never know who will see the email you send. Common professional courtesy and etiquette should never go out of style. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Related: How to Create a Professional Email Signature.

Why You Shouldnt Write a Resume For Something Other Than Your Profession

Why You Shouldn't Write a Resume For Something Other Than Your ProfessionIf you're applying for something that's not directly related to your career, it's probably best to write a resume for something else. In most cases, the job that you want isn't available, but if it is, you might not have a choice. However, if you're trying to get a job in another industry, it's often best to write a resume for something else.Writing a resume for something other than your profession is fairly easy. It usually involves writing something about what you do for a living, including any qualifications you have for a particular position. If there is no particular position that you're trying to get into, you can often try to describe your skills in general terms.In many cases, you may be tempted to put all of your qualifications on one page. Don't. Your options for formatting are much better if you have more than one page. When you find a job in a different field, you should always have another set of qu alifications to show that you are qualified.Another reason to write a resume for something other than your profession is that you may not know anything about the job that you're trying to get into. In many cases, you don't even know anyone who has ever worked at the company that you're applying for. Therefore, a little bit of research is probably required before you can apply.Writing a resume for something other than your profession is also a good idea if you already have a lot of experience. You can use this knowledge to highlight the skills that you've gained throughout your career. For example, if you have been an accountant for 20 years, but you're just starting to think about getting your own accounting firm, you may want to highlight the skills that you have acquired over the years. The same is true for jobs such as CPA, CPA-to-CISA, and paralegal.The amount of experience that you have is also important to include on your resume. When you've worked in several different fields, it can often be difficult to talk about all of the skills that you've acquired over the years. You can save yourself some time by listing all of the relevant skills on your resume, including any certifications that you may have received, as well as any extra training or education that you may have received.Another thing to consider when writing a resume for something other than your profession is that there is a lot more to becoming a successful employee than just getting your first job. The fact of the matter is that not everyone can get hired in the first interview. At some point, you will need to become more effective in your networking. Working toward becoming an employee that's hired, rather than being rejected, is a key strategy in today's workplace.Writing a resume for something other than your profession is a great way to really emphasize what you've done for the company. People who are highly qualified but are applying for jobs in less competitive industries, may want to w rite a resume for something else. However, if you have experience in a specific field and you're applying for a position that's in a popular industry, it may be wise to write a resume for something else.

5 Essential Steps to Grow and Scale Your Business (Podcast #61) - Classy Career Girl

5 Essential Steps to Grow and Scale Your Business (Podcast #61) If you want to build and grow your business but you don’t know where to start, this podcast is for you. In my work in the Corporate Rescue Plan helping hundreds of women quit corporate and launch their business dreams, there are five keys that you need to have built into your business plan before you take the leap. Most of the time I see women have 1 or 2 of these clarified and then they get stuck and struggle. Click play below or  right click here and save link as  to download or subscribe on iTunes  here on this link: If you are enjoying our podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes! It would mean the world. Thank you! It’s so important to have all five of these planned out and ready and then when you actually get to the Side Hustler phase, you know exactly what you should be doing! I am all about decreasing overwhelm and stress as you start and grow your business and that’s exactly what we do in the CRP. If you want less stress and are sick of searching online for the exact steps you need to take, make sure you join us in the Corporate Rescue Plan before doors close on 10/16.  Today, let’s take a peek inside our community and listen in on one of my favorite CRP trainings. This is the foundation of growing a business. Take notes! 5 Essential Steps to Grow and Scale Your Business Step 1: Plan Your Purpose The first step is to uncover what the purpose for your new business is and how it matches your own personal purpose. We want to make sure your business is something you love and are passionate about and isn’t something that will be just another “job” later. Here is where you ask yourself some questions. -What motivates you to start your own business? -What problems have you solved that you now want to help others solve? -What impact do you want to make in the marketplace? -What have you figured out that you want others to know? -What is your business and personal mission? It’s really important you know this because you want to bring your purpose into your branding and you want to be 100% yourself in everything you do in your business. It’s so important to be your authentic self and discover your own voice. Step 2: Plan Your People Plan This step in your business plan is all about uncovering the right people you need to have on your team and in your support community.  If you have one takeaway from this article, it’s to find someone who supports you in your dreams and goals. You need the right support community AND you need the right team of people around you to help you succeed. Also, included in this step is taking care of you. You, Ms. CEO, need some fabulous self-care so this step is all about making sure you are taking care of yourself. This step is also where we dive into who your ideal client is and really uncover and understand who how you can serve them better. Step 3: Plan Your Product Plan This is where you determine what you are going to sell, what the market wants and how you can package up your service or program or product so that your ideal clients want and need it. This is where you put together your launch strategy. You figure out how to create your offer and what you should offer and basically put all of your knowledge into your program or service. For some people this is really hard which is why you need a system to  get all of your knowledge into a program to create it. This is where your passions come into play because you want to create a service or product you love. It’s so much easier to sell when you are passionate about something and you are helping people with that passion.  You would be surprised with all of the knowledge and experience you have in your brain right now! Other people want to know it! [RELATED: How I Created My First Online Product and How You Can Too] There are a couple of  options to create your profitable service or product. You can put it on a membership site into a course. It can be delivered as a webinar or training call. You can also create a digital guide or workbook. Don’t worry if that overwhelms you. There are ways to do this really simply so you don’t have to learn a bunch of different things. Obviously, a great way to start your business is a one-on-one business model. You can get a client tomorrow doing this if you really want to. You don’t need a website or even Facebook. You just need a conversation with someone who needs help with what you have to offer. It’s as simple as that. Of course, there’s also ebooks, and physical products, etc. But the most important thing when you are starting is to simplify. Ask yourself, “What’s the fastest route to cash?” Don’t overcomplicate this. Step 4: Plan Your Promotion Plan The fourth step is a big one and actually where you will spend most of your time. It’s all about promotion when you are building your business plan.  This can be overwhelming. You don’t have to do everything or be everywhere but just need a solid authentic sharing plan (which is what I call it) just for you.  You have to focus in on the promotional tasks that will increase your profits and focus as much time on those revenue generating tasks. Then you have to spend less time on those tasks that aren’t bringing revenue in. Most of you have very little time working a day job and growing your business, so you want to make sure you focus only on revenue generating ideas. Most of the time these activities are sales conversations and actually selling your products or working on creating products that will bring you money in the future. Then, it’s all about creating your sales funnel so prospects are automatically coming to you without you having to go to every random networking event in your city. There are so many ways to do this these days to have people coming automatically to you. It’s very easy now to set up your automatic sales funnel. So, how will people find out about your business? You need to get prospects, turn them into leads and then turn them into your customer. This is called a sales funnel. Step 5: Plan Your Profit This step could make all the difference for you.  You cannot be afraid to talk about and look at the money DAILY. This is  important when creating your business plan because it means the difference between you submitting your resignation letter or not. The numbers have to be there. The sales have to be there. There’s a couple of systems you can put into place so you KNOW that when you make the leap, the cash will be there. There’s no reason to be scared! When you make the leap, you must know  how many clients you need and how many people you need  to talk to and how many people needed to see my promotions. It’s just a numbers game and not a complicated scary thing! So when you make your profit plan, you know how many services or programs you need to sell per week and per month to meet your budget and expenses.  Then, just simply ask yourself what are the marketing activities that factor getting in that many people. If you enroll 25% of your strategy sessions into coaching, then how many potential clients do you need to talk to? How many people need to come through your videos or sales funnel for you to convert what you need? How many people need to walk through the doors of your store? It’s a numbers game and once you know what you need, it’s easy!   Track your money because what you track increases. This step is also a lot about money mindset because when you go from employee to entrepreneur, everything changes! There are so many self-worth issues that come up and am I worth charging that much. If you are ready to turn your business dreams into reality, head on over to  Corporate Rescue Plan  to take advantage of the CART OPEN. We only open up CRP twice per year so dont miss this chance to join our membership community and get all of the amazing member benefits!

Signs Your Interview Went Well

Signs Your Interview Went Well If the following ever happened to you, they were signs your interview went well. It is important to find out when interviews go bad or good. But interview feedback in such rare supply. Here are some signs your interview went well.The Hiring Manager Questions You About Other InterviewsBeing asked about interviews with other companies is one of the best signs your interview went well. It is a good sign your career is about to go in a new direction.Why? They are feeling out if anyone else has interest in you. They want to get an idea whether or not you would accept a job offer. If this ever happens to you, take note and try to remember all you did for the job interview. It went very well!You Start Discussing Specifics of the JobA great sign your interview went well is when the interviewer starts to talk about your ability to handle job responsibilities. If they start talking about what will happen on “day 1”, they have gained a level of confidence in you to discuss details of the jo b, as if you already were hired.A bigger sign your interview went well is if they start talking about who you would report to and other people within the company. They are revealing information about their company to you. When interviews go bad, you are shown the door, not more info about the company.The Hiring Manager Starts Selling You to Other People in the CompanyYou already did your sales pitch in the interview. And it must have worked because now the hiring manager is selling the idea of hiring you to other people.It is a great sign for you when someone you have just met in a job interview feels confident enough to say, “I’ve been talking to this candidate and he/she would be great”. When interviews go bad, you usually hear a polite, “Thank you for coming in.” But if they seem to be bragging about the fact they interviewed you, you definitely have someone on your side.The Company Starts to Sell You on the JobThis is a great feeling. One of the most reassuring signs y our interview went well is when they start to sell you on the job a bit more.The interviewer starts talking about the perks of the company and its culture. They may also go into why they work there. A better sign your interview went well is when they discuss the date you would start if hired. If they had no interest in you they never would have gone into such detail.The Interview Covers Salary and Went a Bit LongSigns your interview went well would include discussions on how much you will be paid and if the interview went longer than usual.Job interviews usually have the basic questions about intentions and plans. So, when the interview seems to go longer and the interview becomes more of a business discussion, you have done well. An even better sign is when the interviewer extends the interview past a deadline while making others wait.Finding the perfect employee is hard work and if they are spending extra time with you it may be a sign you have seriously peaked their interest!You Get Physical Affirmation Through Body LanguageThere is a big difference between saying “Thank you” to someone you will never see again and “Thank you” to someone who wants to see you again.There are great signs your interview went well in the body language of the interviewer. Did they wink, shake hands, or seem to send a message that they enjoyed having you in for an interview?When your interview is ending, watch for the body language of the interviewer. See if it says, “Please...just leave” or “This was great!”When we want someone to stick around longer, we send messages with our body and voice. Watch and listen for them!

The Benefits of Having a Design Resume

The Benefits of Having a Design ResumeAn industrial design resume is very important if you are looking to obtain your next job. If you have ever taken a quick look at a design resume then you know that it is an important tool when it comes to your next job search.The benefits of having an industrial design resume is that it can help to place you in the right company to begin with. The design resume can help to show that you are a pro at what you do. This will help to put you ahead of the competition.The benefits of a design resume is that it can set you apart from other applicants for the position you are applying for. This will also set you apart from many people who have applied for the same position that you are applying for. This helps to put you ahead of the competition as the other people who applied for the position have not only had their resume reviewed but they have also had their skill set and experience evaluated. This allows you to step out of the crowd and stand out in the crowd.The design resume is going to have a much more targeted approach than the other resumes that have been reviewed for a certain position. It will be geared toward finding you the best jobs that you qualify for.Having a design resume is also going to show that you are professional, knowledgeable and hard working. All of these things will help to put you ahead of the competition and help to make you a better employee.As you can see, having a design resume can go a long way towards helping you get a new job. The benefits of having a design resume is that it can help to place you in the right company to begin with.The benefits of a design resume is that it can set you apart from other applicants for the position you are applying for. This will also set you apart from many people who have applied for the same position that you are applying for. This helps to put you ahead of the competition as the other people who applied for the position have not only had their resume reviewed b ut they have also had their skill set and experience evaluated.The benefits of a design resume is that it can set you apart from other applicants for the position you are applying for. This will also set you apart from many people who have applied for the same position that you are applying for. This helps to put you ahead of the competition as the other people who applied for the position have not only had their resume reviewed but they have also had their skill set and experience evaluated.

Job Action Day 3 Actions Jobseekers Can Take to Bridge the Skill Gap

Job Action Day 3 Actions Jobseekers Can Take to Bridge the Skill Gap The skills mismatch is a huge issue in the current jobs crisis.Jobs are more complex these days requiring cross-functional skills or specialized knowledge.  Education is lacking for many unemployed workers and for those who are educated, the push has been towards non-technical skills creating a dearth of skilled workers in the trades.  Schools and business arent aligned especially in vocational and technical areas.  So even students who want to train lack the facilities to become job-ready graduates.Thousands of jobs are going begging because employers can’t find skilled employees. So whats an unemployed worker to do?  On the 4th Annual  Job Action Day  sponsored by Quintessential Careers, the good news is that there are smart actions you can take.  Having worked with individuals of all levels and backgrounds, Ive found the skills mismatch can be a mindset issue and not reality.Here are three ways to bridge the skill gap:Most people take their strengths talents for granted d ont tout them enough.  Ask those who know you well, What are my best skills, abilities and talents?  Take to heart what you hear.  When something comes easily to you, dont mistakenly assume it comes easily for everyone.Skills are transferable from job to job, employer to employer and industry to industry more than most people realize.  My client Steve found his skills as a marketing executive in the music industry were key in helping  him successfully launch his custom furniture business. Now Hill Haus Woodworks is not only bringing him joy and fulfillment but a paycheck as well.Sometimes we gain skills wed rather not use.  Rather than settle, Soul Search to determine those skills you most want to be using in your career -be honest.  For Stanford graduate Jessica DuLong, working in an office didnt satisfy her soul.  Yearning to work with her hands, she transitioned to working as a fireboat engineer and is now an advocate for putting American hands back to work in the trades .With the myriad of reasons for the skills gap, it can feel as if its out of the job seekers control to bridge the distance.  But you have a lot more skills than you give yourself credit for.  Take these three actions on Job Action Day and youll be ready to go after your dream job with the perfect match of skills and passion!**Reinforcing the Job Action Day 2011 Skill Up, Start Up,  Speak Up message is this group of bloggers  dedicating blog posts on or around Job  Action Day 2011 to the event. The first four  represent the Quintessential Careers family of blogs: Quintessential Careers Blog, Job Action Day 2011: Skill Up,  Start Up, Speak Up, http://tinyurl.com/7rtm5rb.   Career Doctor Blog, #Job Action Day 11:  Speak Up: It Takes a Village to Turn a  Jobs Crisis Around, http://tinyurl.com/843qmje.   Quintessential Resume and Cover Letter Tips Blog,  #JobActionDay11: Skill Up, Start Up, Speak Up: Expert  Tips to Fire Up Your Job Search, http://tinyurl.com/87svjmd.   A Storied Ca reer, #JobActionDay11:  A Start-Up Story of Triumphing Over Job Loss,  http://tinyurl.com/7q7kvqb   Deborah Brown-Volkman, The Career Coachs  Blog, http://tinyurl.com/3b2jda5.   Susan Guarneri, Career Assessment Goddess,  The Start-Up Mindset: 10 Tips to Get Out of Your  Comfort Zone, http://tinyurl.com/658dzkp.   Nancy Miller, Job Action Day 2011, Life Work  News, Skill up for Employment, http://tinyurl.com/83tpkml.   Hannah Morgan, Career Sherpa, Start Up: Building  A More Stable Career,http://careersherpa.net/start-up-building-a-more-stable-career/.  Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers, Job Action Day 2011 How to confidently drive your career bus where you want to go,  http://tinyurl.com/7h33oax.  Meg Guiseppi, Today is Job Action Day 2011!,  http://tinyurl.com/6v2hfl4 Deborah Shane,  Deborah Shane Toolbox,  Raise Your Career Metabolism, Bring Your A+ Gameand Develop More Magnetism,  http://tinyurl.com/7rp4gc5.   Wendy Terwelp, Rock Your Career,  http://rockyourcareer.wordpress.com/ .  See http://www.jobactionday.com/2011-Job-Action-Day.html  for the complete, updated list of Job Action Day 2011  Blog posts.

A Letter to Parents Help Your Children

A Letter to Parents Help Your Children Dear Parents: Your child will be graduating soon (either from high school or college).   They do not know how to look for work.   They have not been taught how to do this in school and unfortunately, your advice may not be heard.   What can you do?   How can you prepare you child for the real world? Have them identify things they like to do, people they like to be around, and/or places they enjoy Self assessment is key to this process.   If they can get excited about something, that is more than half the battle.   Help them probe the answers to these questions.   This is hard work, even for experienced adults. Creative thinking Before focusing in on specific jobs, think about companies, organizations, institutions that would provide an opportunity for them to hang around in an environment meeting their interests above.   Grab the phone book, chamber of commerce listing or any other listing of   companies. Ask them to create a list of everyone they know Teachers, professors, neighbors, past employers, parents of friends, friends, family members, coaches, doctors, store ownerseveryone. And ask to see the list! Conversations based on information gathering Strategize with them how they will contact some of these people- phone, email, other!   Now, help them script their call or email.   Youll want to do this.   Remember, they havent had to do this before and this is difficult.   The call or email is about building rapport and seeking information. This is why the leg work up front will be helpful.   They can say WHY and WHAT they are interested in learning more about. They will not, nor should not open a call or email with: I am looking for a job and I was hoping you would know who might be hiring. Instead, part of the request for help might read : I am about to graduate and would be interested in learning more about how troubled youth are being helped.   Because you work at XYZ agency, I would enjoy learning more from you about the services being provided and some of the other service providers in the area. or My finance degree taught me that I love analyzing numbers.   I would enjoy the opportunity to learn more from you about your experience working at BBZ because they are a company I feel is well regarded Follow Through and Persistence This is a hard concept for anyone.   Once theyve reached out or submitted an application or resume, it is imperative they follow up, until their status or request is resolved.   Again, a little coaching on this from you will be helpful. Practice Interviewing with them You can use these questions (linked here) to roll play with them and help them prepare and refine answers. You have been so supportive of them up until now.   Dont stop.   Help them develop these skills! Share this information.   Hold them accountable!