Crafting a Professional Email 101

Crafting an email to a professor or company can be scary.

You want to use your email to communicate professionalism, a positive attitude, and a great work ethic, all while trying to get your point across. Here are a few tips to help ease the burden.

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Opening Statement

Determine your target audience. Have you met them before? If not, take this time to introduce yourself! If you have met who you are addressing, create a simple greeting to begin the email. My favorite go-to greeting? “I hope this message finds you well.”

Correct Grammar and Punctuation

We live in a time of abbreviations, slang, and lowercase proper nouns. For a professional email, be sure to use appropriate punctuation, spelling, and grammar before you send it. Capitalize your “I’s” and use periods. I promise you, periods don’t come across as aggressive here.

Concise Text

Whoever you are emailing — whether it be a hiring manager, your boss, professor, or a colleague — wants to read something concise and direct. However, make sure you are still conveying what you need to and do your best to anticipate any questions they may have by including that information in your email.

Revisions

Once your text is written, go back to edit and revise it! Remove all spelling errors and incorrect sentence structure. Check that your wording is clear. Spellcheck is your friend!

Signature

Before signing, thank them for their time and add a call to action if next steps are needed. Use your signature to express who you are and your role, especially if you haven’t communicated with this person before. You can set an automatic signature in your account setting that will show up whenever you send an email. Here is an example:

Aubie the Tiger

Auburn University | ‘24

College of Education | Physical Activity and Health

Campus Recreation | Membership

(123) 456-7890 | www.auburn.edu

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Use these tips to send your next email and wow your audience!

Be well, Auburn.

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Photography: Kazmine L.