Though Generation Z’s contact-shy youth may ice out the need for contacting people out of the blue, the skill will ultimately come in handy as students enter the workforce, market themselves and generally move into professional life. Writing friendly, polished cold emails will greatly improve a burgeoning adult’s toolbox. Professionals use these emails to network with people such as potential employers and introduce themselves, typically tiptoeing toward an interview.
Cold emails uniquely allow people to reach out to leaders in careers or companies they aspire to without forcing them into awkward interactions or responses at all. They provide a forum where a hopeful employee can introduce him or herself and wow the person he or she emailed. Whether he or she hopes to follow up on a job posting, offer to fill a role that the company does not yet know about, seek guidance from a role model or anything in between, the cold email provides an unobtrusive space to enter a professional’s field of vision.
When writing a cold email, the first thing the writer must prioritize lies in its purpose. Although reaching out just to network may encapsulate the writer’s idea, narrowing down on a simple question will ease the process, especially for the individual with a stranger’s name in their inbox. In this vein, keeping an email short and kind minimizes the task for recipients reading the email, therefore encouraging them to respond in an equally brief and polite way. Regardless, this email represents the sender as a whole, so focusing on crafting well-educated and professional-sounding sentences builds the author’s credibility. Including a personality-packed first sentence and running the draft through a grammar and spell-checking tool will provide an unhampered first impression. This first impression begins in the subject line, so maintaining correct spelling, efficiency and clarity will improve the likelihood that a recipient will read it. Capitalize this line as a title on a book, with each noun, adjective and verb led by a capital letter.
“Make sure you sound as adult and as professional as possible. Be very specific about the words that you’re using so that it pops out to whoever happens to be reading it. You want to be concise, not overtly wordy, and ask yourself if it communicates what you want it to communicate. Make sure you proofread before you hit send. It’s always worthwhile, especially if it’s for something really important, to have someone else read it before you hit send, especially if you’ve never done it before,” Advanced Placement (AP) Microeconomics teacher Tara Sisino said.
Although the temptation to use AI may itch the sender’s fingers and unready mind, a personalized message generally strengthens an email, particularly in creative fields, where AI’s use may hinder impressions as inventive. Avoiding AI also helps writers directly address their readers, perhaps describing the qualities that drew them to reach out. It also helps them include their personality, a facet that will interest the receiver. Similarly, those who send these emails should avoid presuming that the reader wants information beyond the bare minimum. Excluding a resume or a life story may feel unprepared, but typically, the professional can not take the time to review swaths of material, so waiting for a request for extra information will reflect best upon the sender.
At any stage of life, the modern world requires the ability to write an email. Whether a high school student seeks an internship or a sales representative aims to tempt a company, a simple email will move him or her a step forward: from subject line to sign-off.
