ChickSpeak

Remember that time you sent an e-mail to a contact claiming you attached your resume, but you actually hadn’t. Then you had to follow up with the awkward e-mail apologizing for not attaching it, but promise it’s attached this time.Because I do. I’m ashamed to say it hasn’t only happened once either.

Bloopers happen frequently and easily when everything is within a touch of a button or a click of a mouse. Forgetting an attachment, misspelling words and giving off the wrong impression are just a few of those pesky errors that can cause professional or academic problems. But don’t stress out yet, chicks. Before sending that next e-mail, read over our tips to help avoid these simple mistakes.

Choosing Your E-Mail

I remember my first e-mail address, which my friend made for me because I didn’t have the Internet at my house yet. The user name was sweet_peas_13. I suppose it was cool because I was a sweet girl. Although when I look back now, I cringe in embarrassment. Needless to say, it’s time to create a professional e-mail address.

Before you say you have one -your school e-mail, think about this: whether you’re a freshman or a senior, you will graduate. Eventually, you will, I promise.

Once you graduate, you’ll have to create a new e-mail address, send it to all of your contacts and hope they remember to change it in their address book. Save yourself the trouble and create an e-mail now that you can keep forever.

Pick where you want to create it first. The biggest names are Gmail.com, Hotmail.com and Yahoo.com. Each come with their own positive and negative aspects, so take your time and look over each of them. All of them will serve their purpose though, so don’t get too hung up on it.

After you decide, it’s time to make the address. Remember we’re aiming for professional, so stay away from usernames like “2sexy4you” and “LilMissPrincess.”

By using your name or a combination of initials and full names, it can help potential employers and contacts remember who you are. Then use this e-mail for all of your business purposes, so contacts will always have a way to reach you.

Getting the Signature Right

Your signature is pretty important; after all, it’s pretty much the online version of your business card. It leaves people you e-mail with two important parts: all your contact information and links to your personal work.

Let’s start with your contact information. Although it may sound simple, start with your full name. If you’re employed and want to make a signature for your work address, be sure to include your professional title and the full name of your company.

If you’re in school, include your college’s name and your class. Then add at least one phone number, preferably the easiest one to reach you at and another if you have one. If you have a fax number, include it after your phone number. Next include your e-mail address and links to any social networking sites you use professionally, such as Twitter or LinkedIn. Adding your e-mail may sound silly, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Now it’s time to get some exposure. Adding social networking sites can serve a dual purpose. It gives people an alternative way to contact you, but when used properly, these sites can also let them know what you’ve been doing lately-current projects, new articles and recent achievements. If you have a personal Web site or a blog, now is the time to include it.

(On a side note, if you’re hoping to break into a creative field, a Web site can be very important.) When you add links to your signature, make sure you write out the entire link starting with “http://” so all the reader has to do is click to open it.

Writing the E-Mail

When writing an e-mail, you probably start by adding the e-mail address of the recipient. Stop right there! By adding the recipient first, you create all sorts of opportunities to make a mistake. Without an address, hitting the send button means nothing.

So where do you start? With the easiest part to forget-the attachments. Before you type a word, attach the appropriate documents. Whether it’s your resume, your final paper, a presentation or a photo, by attaching it first, you immediately eliminate the risk of forgetting it later.

With that blooper avoided, it’s time to write the body of the e-mail. Acknowledge who you’re sending the e-mail to, even if it’s just “To Whom it May Concern.” (Although, always try to get a name. It makes it much more personal.) Be sure to use your discretion on how to address them. You wouldn’t address a friend the same way you’d address a professor or potential employer.

Next, explain why you’re writing the receiver and why you’ve attached your documents. If you’re writing a cover letter, sometimes it helps to write it in a word document first. Then you can copy and paste it into the body of your e-mail.

But whether you type it in a Word document or the body of the e-mail, make sure you proofread it! Most e-mail providers include a spell check, so use it. At the same time, read over the message yourself to make sure everything flows, a computer can’t always catch everything. Also, like when writing a paper, save frequently!

Now you’re halfway through, and the next two parts are fairly simple. After the attachments and the body are done, it’s time to tackle the subject line. I used the term “fairly simple” because writing a subject doesn’t appear to be hard, but it’s often the hardest part of the e-mail for me.

How do you grab the attention of the recipient with that one simple line? Well, that depends on the purpose of your e-mail. If you’re applying for something, include the position and company you’re applying for. If someone suggested you contact the recipient, say “so-and-so suggested I contact you.”

Unfortunately there are hundreds of different scenarios and I could go on all day. But the important part to remember is that you want to reinforce the body of the e-mail in the message. Stay away from generic subjects such as “Hello” or “How are you?”

And last, the part you’ve wanted to do since the beginning, add the receiver’s address in the “To” box! Make sure the name of the recipient matches up with the name in the body of the e-mail. After all of this work, you don’t want to send it to the wrong person.

And before you hit “send,” take one last glance to make sure everything is in check. It never hurts to be safe.

Hitting Send

Go ahead! Not only do you have a professional e-mail address and a professional signature, but you haven’t forgotten the attachments and you have a strong subject line and an error-free e-mail body. Now you can sit back and wait for the response.

Cassandra Zink is a recent journalism graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in love with all things media, tea, Pilates and to-do lists.