Friday, November 29, 2019

5 Business Email Format Tips That Will Help You Succeed

5 Business Email Format Tips That Will Help You Succeed5 Business Email Format Tips That Will Help You Succeed The average business emaillelele user receives over ninety emails per day . That means your message has some serious competition for the recipients attention. Clear, effective communication begins with using the proper business email format.Whats so hard about that? youre thinking. I type out what I have to say, hit Send , and away it goesSlow your roll there, champ How you format your business email makes a difference. Not only does good email formatting make your email easier to read, it makes you look like a polished professional.Many people throw a subject line onto an email as an afterthought. But, if you want to make sure your email gets the attention it deserves, an afterthought wont cut it.Take it from the people who send marketing emails for a living - subject lines are important. Thirty-three percent of email recipients decide whether or not to ope n an email based on subject line alone . Although business emails between people who know and work with one another are far mora likely to be opened than sales pitches, your subject line still serves a purpose.Heres a tip Because theyre often used by marketers and spammers, words and phrases like urgent and reply needed have lost some of their effectiveness as email subject lines. Try being mora specific Respond by EOD Friday.Business email salutations can be tricky unless you know some email greeting dos and donts. Play it too straight and youll sound stuffy. Too informal, and youll come across as unprofessional . How do you find a balance?Incorrect Hey, Martin Wazzap ?Even if you know the recipient well, zany salutations are inappropriate for business email. If your email happens to be forwarded or becomes part of a Reply All chain, people besides your intended recipient will see it. Keep it professional. Martin may be your buddy, but save the playful banter for when youre off the clock.Its fine to use a friendly tone with someone you know or work closely with, particularly if that person is on the same company tier as you, or at least not much higher up the food chain. For almost all workplace communication , Hi is an appropriate greeting.Heres a tip Use a more formal style if your company requires it or when the person youre emailing is above your authority. Otherwise, mirror what your colleagues do. If emails between folks on the marketing team usually open with Hey , feel free to follow suit.When youre writing formal emails (such as cover letters or emails to a high-level superior), use Dear followed by the recipients honorific, last name, and a colon Dear Ms. SmithHeres a tip If the recipients gender is unknown, or if their name is the least bit ambiguous, use a full name instead Dear Terry SmithHeres a tip Avoid honorifics that imply marital status such as Mrs. Use Ms. instead.With your subject line and greeting out of the way, its time to craft t he body of your email. Theres more to getting it right than simply putting down a stream of thoughts and hitting Send .Format your email just like a business letter, with double spaces between paragraphs and no indentation. (Its okay to indent quoted text.)Heres a tip Need to copy and paste? You can paste text without formatting. Use Ctrl + Shift + V on a PC or Cmd + Shift + V on a Mac. This will strip all formatting from the pasted text, so remember to add things like hyperlinks that may have been removed.Dont forget to sign your email. Youll need a friendly, professional sign-off such as All the best or Thanks for most emails and Sincerely for formal correspondence.Dont forget to add a professional signature. (Most email clients allow you to create one that will be automatically appended to every message.) Include your full name, title, the company you work for and your phone number. You might also consider adding a link to your LinkedIn profile and any professional social media accounts youd like business colleagues to have access to.Heres a tip After youve created a new signature, send a quick sample email to yourself to see how the formatting looks. Keep in mind, though, that different email clients may not display your signature quite the same.Your email is not complete until you proofread it. Use Grammarly to help you catch errors as you go, but remember that the app is a proofreading enhancement, not a substitute. Take the time to proofread yourself and check for smooth syntax and eliminate wordiness . Watch for typos where you may have used a similar but completely unintended word.This article was originally published on Grammarly . It is reprinted with permission.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

4 Ways to Find Your Best Career Fit

4 Ways to Find Yur Best Career Fit4 Ways to Find Your Best Career FitBut as in any hunt, fear can hold you back. If youre someone whos been in the job market for a while, or particularly a mid-career candidate competing with younger candidates, the job hunt can be especially daunting. Being flexible and adaptable puts you ahead of the pack, but how can you muster the courage to push past your fears and find your best career fit?Since this is a hunt, after all, here are some thoughts about how to find your prey a job thats right for youTake a test driveFlexible work options are ideal for helping job seekers decide which careers work best for them. Part-time and work-from-home jobs can help help you figure out whats out there, and what kind of work might be most fulfilling for you. Many companies now offer some form of flexibility, or are open to the idea. Even its not offered at the outset as part of the job package, ask and negotiateTackle your fearsFear of the new can be paralyzing . Were all comfortable with what we know whether its in our personal lives, our day-to-day interactions with people were familiar with, or in carrying out our job functions. But if youve done your research, you wont be diving head-first into the unknown. Instead, youll have a well-thought-out job search plan that serves as a reliable guide.Survey the landscapeCareer options are always evolving, especially in the technology sector. As you do your job research, keep an eye out for new or unusual jobs that might really catapult you into something invigorating and challenging and fun.Grow your ambitionsSometimes, being unhappy in your career can be a matter of having outgrown where you were just a few years ago. Your job may be as good as it ever was what may have changed are your outlook, interests, and ambitions. Think strategically about ways to grow your career,whether youre frustrated in your current job, between jobs, or just brain-storming for the long run.Readers, tell us how y ou finally found the job or career thats a good fit for you

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Let IKEA turn your living room into the set of your favorite TV show

Let IKEA turn your living room into the set of your favorite TV showLet IKEA turn your living room into the set of your favorite TV showIf youve ever thought about recreating your living room into the set of Friends, Ikea wants to help you do that.NBCThe furniture giant is bringing Hollywood into your homes with its Real Life series which allows consumers to decorate any room they want to resemble the living room sets from popular TV shows like Friends, The Simpsons, and Netflix hit Stranger Things.We brought to life the iconic living rooms of the most beloved families of all times, through tons of furniture combinations in lots of different styles and sizes and at affordable prices, Ikea said on its website. Weve grouped all the products for each room for you, so its easy to recreate what you see here in your own home. Take a look and make your living room iconic with IKEA.Ikea UAENetflixIn the recreated Stranger Things living room, Ikea offers basically everything that appeared on the set of Winona Ryders living room including the Christmas lights have hung on the wall and even paint and paintbrushes, in case you want to try to communicate with your missing child who is in a scary parallel universe.Ikea UAEFoxThe Simpsons room has a similar cartoonish feel to it as the popular animated TV show has including furniture features that appeared in the show like the hanging plant.The campaign is currently running in the United Arab Emirates and will be displayed throughout IKEA stores in the Middle East, Ad Week reported.The IKEA team worked closely with the creatives for months. They went through hundreds of items to find the perfect pieces that would bring those iconic rooms, managing director for IKEA in the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Oman Vinod Jayan said via Ad Week. It was a great collaborative effort that led up to a stunning result.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people