2022 HBCU Careers Magazine

HBCU Careers Magazine

The Language of Professionalism Begins in College By Elvis Santos

Writing an email in high school for most students probably wasn’t a big deal, but it is frequently used throughout students’ college experience and certainly beyond college. It’s an essential skill set that college students must instill as they start to communicate with professors, academic advisors, counselors, and even their peers. Proper email etiquette practices are encouraged for college students and to help you tap into any uncertainties, here are five email etiquette rules to help before hitting the send button:

1. Using a Professional or Personal Email Most people have several personal email addresses used for different purposes such as one assigned for shopping coupons or one used for just job applications. College students are assigned a college email that they can access to communicate with professors and faculty members. I would highly recommend college students use their college email address during their time as college students as it makes it easier to stay connected with professors. Most important school documents such as exams, assignments, financial aid, and any sensitive documentation are typically sent to a college email. If it is easier to get a reach of you at your personal email, you can politely ask the sender to use your personal email in the “cc” line to send not only important documents to your school email but also your personal email as well. Also, if you’re using a personal email, make sure it looks and sounds appropriate. During my college years, I recall working alongside one of my class peers, and I will never forget their email address: hulkneverdies@blank.com. I guess he was a huge Marvel super comic fan? It shows. My advice? Use your first and last name for a clean, minimalistic email address that looks professional. Be Patient for a Response It’s safe to say that most of us have many things going on in our lives and try to get them done all at once. As a career counselor, I experience many college students having an expectation of receiving an email response a few minutes after they sent me an email. What some are not aware of is that I’m wearing multiple hats within the position from student counseling, business development, employer outreach, and conducting workshops. Professors and faculty members can respond to an email within 24-36hrs of receiving your email as they work on responding not just to your email but to other emails coming from other students and external emails. We live in a fast-paced world where many of us want a response from our friends, family, peers, and even professors immediately, whether via text message or email. Remember that the person receiving the email also has deadlines, projects, and ad hoc projects that they also need to respond to. My other recommendation is if you have not gotten a response to your email within 36 hours, you can send a second email and remind them to get back to you as a reminder from the first email. 2.

3. Did you proofread your email? Have you ever been in a rush to reply to an email, finished composing your email, hit the send button and didn’t take the time to proofread it? By the time you send it, it’s too late any make corrections and if you

78