Letter writing etiquette…people need to learn to use it for e-mails

Has this ever happened to you?

You send an email asking a question that can help you in completing a confidential matter. You are nice, you ask for the information but do not reveal to much information you are acing discreetly. The receiver that you sent the question sends you a note asking for more information. You reply in a discreet manner and restate the questions and still the receiver won’t get the hint that you can not tell the complete story. The receiver of the question then withholds the critical piece of information because the just have to know everything.

I understand that we live in a “me, me, me world” but holding information hostage…what is this about? When did it become okay to be rude because you are using e-mail to communicate?

When I learned to write letter it was okay to be discrete, address people in a professional or formal manner, and ask for information from the receiver in a nice way. When I began writing e-mails I carried these same letter writing skills into my electronic communications.

According to E-mail Etiquette posted by emailaddresses.com the first contact with other people will often be through email and many may never actually meet them face to face, you might well end up having a productive ongoing email relationship with them for years. This reason alone dictates that we need to be especially cautious in our digital communications.

If you need a good reason to use proper e-mail etiquette in New Zealand a woman who was fired for Poor E-mail Etiquette. Her “confrontational” e-mails which broke good etiquette practices by using uppercase characters, bold fonts, and red lettering was considered to be a form of harassment. Although they eventually overturned her termination this e-mail diva she should realize that she needs to adhere to proper e-mail etiquette and that most often it is not the message but the delivery of the message that is inappropriate.

To help those who may need some information about proper e-mail etiquette check out about.com for their Top 26 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette or ebooks online for a wonderful book by Samantha Miller called E-Mail Etiquette: Do's, Don'ts and Disaster Tales from People Magazine's Internet Manners Expert

Finding a Job in the Digital Age

Relocating to a new city can be challenging the move, the utilities, the change in life style and so much more. Then when you think you have recovered and are ready to find a job you realize…the hard part has just begun.

In the past when you moved to a new city and needed to locate a job you found a local paper and searched the want ads. Those days are gone. Many would have you believe that searching for a job in this new era of digital communication is easier, they would be wrong.

In fact John Donovan, CRW, CERW tells us that Digital Age has actually made it more difficult and confusing to conduct a job search. Instead of just competing against people in your local market now you have the world being able to view and apply for available positions.

With all of this technology what can a person do to stand out in a crowd of 1000’s?

Use technology to find a way to get noticed. I believe that even though you have a strong resume you need an ally to help you get noticed. Start with contacting people who have prominent jobs in your field via e-mail using the write it well guide. Ask these industry leaders for advice on your resume. They know what managers are looking for in employees and can offer valuable insight.

Also, I say when you have to send a copy of your resume to HR for open positions make sure you also copy to the decision maker. Nine times out of ten HR is there to collect data and put you through a generic screening process. They then forward the resumes they feel meet the job criteria to the decision maker. Example: For a job that is requiring a bachelor’s degree HR will disqualify a resume that shows no degree yet the person could have 20 years of experience and 1 credit short of a bachelor’s degree which will be completed in less than 30 days.

Use social media, its bigger than you think, to make contacts who can introduce you to the right person. Online networking is still networking. Locating a person with first hand knowledge about the position is the best way to number one find out more about the position and employer and number two learn if you are qualified.

Finally make sure to follow up, follow up, follow up whether it be electronically, a personal note or a phone call.

Some why’s the 35+ generation uses social media

Recently I read an article that the majority of users on MySpace and FaceBook were over 35 years of age. Although surprising to many, I found the information to be accurate probably because I am one of the over 35 users. There are many reasons our generation, aka the Baby Boomers and GenX, are utilizing social networking sites.

The first reason that comes to mind is reconnecting with past friends and associates. Not long ago my husband added his name to his high school class web site. Less than 24 hours later he was reconnecting with friends he had not heard from in over 30 years. He was able to share stories from high school, learn about their present lives and found a few friends lived within 15 miles of our home.

Another “why” the 35+ generation is using social media is for business. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter can aid a business in spreading the word about products and services. Some companies are creating videos and posting them on YouTube and other similar sites. These social networking sites cost very little and can have a huge impact on sales.

The final reason I’m discussing in this blog is an eight letter word where people can have one or more. This can be the cause of great pride, the cause of moment’s grief, and the cause of endless joy. Yes I am talking about

C H I L D R E N

Many of my friends have started their own pages on Facebook and MySpace so that they can stay current / in touch with their children. Now days our children all own iPhones and have social media network applications on their phones. They can Twitter on a moments notice sending out a message to all that they just found the perfect place to buy pizza. They can post photos on Facebook that we can see them acting silly and know who their friends are and where they like to hang-out.

Even more important to me is how your children, who may live across the country of for a time reside in Iraq, can stay in contact with their parents to let them know how they are doing and that they are safe.

Digital Communication at MVA…I think not

Each time someone relocates from one state to another the transition requires the evitable transfer of the person’s driver’s license. I was no exception.

Wanting to be proactive I went to the MVA’s website to research all the information that I would have to have for the DL transfer. I found the information with the forms of identification that I would need, I found the vision screening form and emailed the pdf to my ophthalmologist / eye surgeon and it was completed now I was fully prepared.

What was I thinking…

When I got to the MVA I waited in line just so that I could be assigned a number. Once I got to the counter I was told that my birth certificate, social security card, drivers license, state identification card and bills showing I had a local address was not good enough. When I stated that online this was what was required he then told me that my birth certificate had my maiden name and therefore I now needed to produce my marriage license so that I could prove I was who I said I was and I should go home and get it and come back.

I had just driven 25 minutes, stood in line 25 minutes to be told sorry not good enough. I was so upset that I required retail therapy.

My next attempt at the transfer started off okay; I now had all the proper paperwork and was sure that things would go much more smoothly

What was I thinking…

After a short 10 minutes in line I now had a number. I could officially take a seat in the large waiting area and wait for my number to be called and displayed on the large screen. 30 minutes later I was able to speak with a MVA representative. I presented all my information to the clerk and made the mistake of asking a question. I said “can you tell me a little about the process of the transfer I only know what I read online.” The response still has me shaking my head “please do not talk you are confusing me!”

After several minutes he finally began the process of looking at my identification materials. Then he looked at me and asked why I brought a bad copy of my birth certificate to him and stared at me. I replied that it was a certificated copy the original was destroyed in a flood and he then spent the next five minutes telling me how the state of Ohio does not know how to produce a proper birth certificate.

Just when I though it couldn’t get any worse he looks at my marriage license and then stands up and starts spouting that he can not see how I went from my maiden name to my married name and I said it is listed on the marriage license. 5 minutes later he found the correct line and this brought about a tirade of how Florida should learn how to properly display information on important documents.


Finally we go through the paper work, the person takes my picture and then he answers for me when it comes to registering to vote – I said I wanted to register and he shrugged. Last on the list of torture for the day was the vision test. I explained that I had a paper from the doctor and he tossed it in a basket. When I looked in the viewer I mentioned that he had not looked at the paper. He then proceeded to tell me to read and I explained my vision problem at which time he finally opened the paper. Oh no, the doctor had made a mistake on the form and used white out to correct it. This was a very bad mistake according to this man and he told me to get a new form. I asked him if the doctor could use the electronic form he had and make the corrections, the man said NO you have to have him fill out this form (a rack brochure) he handed me. I noted that the doctor was in Florida and we were in Maryland how was I going to do that and he then said that doctor can fax the form. I asked if the doctor could email the form and was told NO and that the doctor should have known better and should have properly completed the form the first time.

I had just driven 25 minutes, stood in line 10 minutes, waited in the holding area for 30 minutes and spent a very long and frustrating 55 minutes with this man. Forget shopping, I now decided that I should head home and mix myself a very large Cosmo.

The next day my husband, his company knows how to use the latest technology to make life simpler, scanned the documents, emailed them to the doctor and I spoke with the doctors office manager and they agreed to fax the information to the MVA.

August 28th I am now at the MVA for the 3rd time in less than one week. I know today will be better because I had just spent 10 minutes on the phone with a representative at the office while they attempted to find the fax my doctor sent.

Long story short I finally got my license and hope that no other person ever has to endure the frustration I felt at the process which at first looked to be technologically advanced and turned out to be a manual system.

Had the process used digital communication many of the necessary paperwork could immediately be transferred to the correct person. This would maximize productivity, perhaps make the clerks more pleasant and streamline operations that would assist the CUSTOMER in the transfer process.