How to Write an Email with Five Exercises $$ Exercises for Chapter $1$

Sharon B$.$ Buchbinder

Just like letter$-$writing, there are certain conventions that should be adhered to when writing an email. If your emails are sloppy, it$$s like going to a job interview in cut$-$offs and flip$-$flops. You won$$t get in the door, much less get the job. The following is a review of the etiquette for email.

$$ Your Email Address

If you want to be treated as a professional and considered for an internship or job in health care management, your email address should reflect that. Many employers won$$t even consider your job application if your email address contains nicknames $($Twinkletoes@xxx$.$com$),$ alcohol$-$related handles $($BeerHound@xxx$.$com$),$ or slang $($Whassup@xxx$.$com$).$ We recommend using the following naming convention: first name last name email provider. Example: JohnBrown@xxx$.$com or JaneSmith@xxx$.$com. It is a good idea not to include any numbers related to the year you were born.

$$ The Subject Line

This should convey the purpose of your email in a succinct manner$$not a sentence. Take care to craft a good message without typos or misspellings, or your email could wind up in a SPAM or TRASH folder. Here are some examples of subject lines:

$$Job Posting for Admissions Coordinator

$$Referred by Dr$.$ Jones for Internship

$$Request for Informational Interview

$$Seeking Volunteer Opportunities

$$Following up on Application for Admissions Coordinator

$$Thank You for Allowing Me to Interview You

$$ Greeting

In today$$s business world, emails have replaced formal letters. That does not mean you should be informal in your greeting. Treat this as your introduction to your future employer, not your high school buddy. Here are some examples of greetings:

$$Dear Professor Smith:

$$Dear Dr$.$ Spock:

$$Dear Mr$.$ Jones:

$$Dear Ms$.$ Smith: $($unless you know if someone is married and they prefer you use Mrs$.,$ use Ms$.$ instead of Miss or Mrs$.)$

$$To Whom it May Concern: $($when you are writing to a blind email address, such as hiring info@xxx$.$com$)$

$$ The Body of the Email

The purpose of your email: this is where you continue your greeting, introduce yourself, and indicate why you are emailing them. Keep it short. Emails that go past one screen do not get read, they get deleted. People are inundated with emails and want to know why you are writing. This must be short, polite, and to the point.

$$I am in your health care policy class $($specify number and section$),$ and I am writing to inquire about the status of my last assignment.

$$I saw you last week and you suggested I should have some blood tests. I am writing to inquire about the results of those tests.

$$I am about to graduate with my degree in health care management and am writing in response to your job posting on your organization$$s website for an Admissions Coordinator.

$$Thank you for your response to my inquiry regarding the assistant grant writer position. Per your request, attached you will find two examples of grant proposals I wrote for my health care management internship.

$$I am about to graduate with my degree in health care management, and I am writing to inquire about the job posting on Monster.com for Admissions Coordinator that I found on DATE at URL

$$ Paragraph Two

If this is an email for a job application, this is where you indicate why you are the perfect person for the position. Using the posted job description, zero in on the key words and echo them$$with short examples of how you demonstrate the required competencies.

$$I am employed as a receptionist at the Midtown Internal Medicine Practice. In that role, I utilize my excellent interpersonal skills and attention to detail to organize patient materials, adhere to HIPAA and Protected Health Information laws and regulations, review patient insurance information, collect correct co$-$pays, and update patient contact and health information. The same competencies I use for the physicians$$ practice can be transferred and applied to the role of a hospital admissions coordinator.

$$ Closing

$$Attached you will find my resume which details my educational and professional accomplishments for your review. I can be reached at EMAIL and PHONE NUMBER. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

JaneDoe@xxx$.$com

Health Care Management Major

The Best University

Class of $2021$

Cell: $555-555-5555$

If you don$$t hear from your email inquiry within five $(5)$ business days, it is reasonable to write a follow$-$up email asking if it was received. Sometimes emails get trapped in SPAM folders or the recipient forgets the email is in the Inbox.

$$ Exercises

Write an email to a health care executive with whom you would like to conduct an informational interview.

Find a job you are interested in applying for after graduation and write an email inquiring about the position.

Write an email to a classmate asking where their materials are for the group pr