Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Mary Walton – proofreader at Best British Essays. Her opinions are her own.
When it comes to recruiting candidates, communication is one of your greatest tools and can often define whether you will succeed or fail.
Email is one of the oldest and most trustworthy of communication tools, and you probably feel like you send thousands every day.
In this post I’ll explore several ways that you can enhance your email communication so it becomes more effective and can help your recruitment process become more efficient.
1. Use one subject per email
Too many recruiters overlook this common point that one email should include one subject. Use one email feed to communicate one message. Don’t try and cram all the information that needs to be said into one email.
2. Pay attention to the subject line
Candidates (and recruiters) receive dozens of emails every single day. This is why it’s so important to use the subject line of an email to your advantage. Clearly define, in just a few words, what the email is about and how important it is to be read. If something is urgent (for example when you might need to book an interview at short notice), use URGENT: *****. This way, the candidate will know to open it and hopefully respond to the email quickly.
3. Consider the length of your emails
No candidate wants to read an email that’s thousands of words long when you could have simply summarized your points in (probably less than) a few hundred. When writing emails, only include the information that you need to include so it can be read and digested quickly by your candidates.
This will save everybody time, minimising the risk of miscommunication (and potential misunderstanding) and transfer information a lot faster.
4. Remain professional
It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to a potential employee during the recruitment process or a co-worker working across the room from you, it’s important that you remain professional in all your emails. Too many recruiters fall into the trap of thinking that emails are quite casual but this couldn’t be further from the truth especially when you’re in the courting phase of attracting a potential candidate to your organisation.
Avoid slang and industry lingo, so there’s no risk of miscommunication and always close off your emails using a phrase like ‘Regards’ or ‘All the best’. These are simply good habits to get into.
Much like body language says a lot about a person in a face-to-face conversation, the language you use in an email defines your tone of voice. For example, you don’t want to send across an email that seems blunt or angry when you’re not. For a recruiter, your relationship with other people is all part of your job.
5. Proofread your emails
There’s nothing worse than reading through an email that’s full of spelling mistakes, typos, or punctuation errors.
To minimise this risk, proofread your emails before you press send to guarantee accuracy. You can use online tools, such as Assignment Help, Revieweal, Essay Services or Grade On Fire (recommended by HuffingtonPost).
Hand in hand with the above tip, check the grammar of your email writing in order to dramatically boost the readability of your emails. This will save your recipients time when it comes to reading your emails. You can brush up your grammar skills using free online resource guides, such as Academadvisor.
Alternatively, you can use tools, such as Grammarly or the Hemingway App to monitor your grammar usage and the overall accuracy of your content as you write. This is ideal for writing emails or any other kind of written communication that you use.
6. Don’t Use email for everything
This is especially important to remember for a recruiter. Some messages really need to be conveyed over the phone or face-to-face (for example rejecting a candidate), and it’s important that you teach yourself where these boundaries are.
Carol Clark, the HR manager for Resume Service, says: “Some areas of HR will need to be addressed face-to-face. By all means set up a meeting over email but don’t try and have a detailed conversation as it will simply prolong messages that can be summed up during a real-time meeting.”
7. Organise your emails
When it comes to email, there’s no better way to keep on top of things that using a well-oiled system to keep everything organised and up to date. This means you’ll always be fully aware of what emails are being sent, and opened, to make sure that the highest level of communication is always maintained.
Tools such as MixMax or Outreach, give you the ability to handle bulk emails and mailing lists with ease. This means you’ll be able to see exactly what messages are coming in and out all from one easy-to-use dashboard. This helps you stay on top of all the little jobs while making sure that you don’t miss out on anything important.
8. Use mobile-friendly services
Chances are that as a recruiter, you are not always in front of a computer in the office. You may be out and about meeting with clients, hiring managers, or interviewing candidates.
In short, this means that your mobile device may be your only form of communication throughout the day, so it’s worth investing in mobile-friendly communication methods to make things easier and more connected. To start with, make sure all your team are using mobile-friendly email communication tools, such as Gmail, or revert to an app such as Slack for effortless communication.
9. When it’s gone, it’s gone
One of the most important things to remember about sending an email is that once you’ve pressed ‘send’, the email has gone forever, and there’s no way for you to bring it back. Always consider this, alongside all the aspects above, to ensure that your email is perfect before you press the send button.
Author
Lilly Chesser
