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NIT Silchar

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Email Etiquette for

NIT SilcharIntern and GradSchool

applicantsManabendra Saharia & Amartya

DeyB.Tech ,7th sem, Class of 2011

Dept .of Civil EngineeringNational Institute of Technology,

Silchar

Published online: October 2010

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Need For this presentation

Email is the single most important tool for connecting with people who will be relevant to your professional success.

Even though widely used, few people understand the functionality of Email in personal and professional life

Indian students are widely known for their lack of Email Etiquettes (Just like our lack of etiquette over Phone)

Your Intern/Graduate School application depend highly on your ability to elicit responses from Professors/Professionals.

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Basic FundaeAlways add a Signature in your Email

Example:Regards,NameB.Tech, Semester 1 of 8Dept. of Civil EngineeringNational Institute of Technology, SilcharPhone: +91.00000.00000Homepage: (If you have one)

Advantages:• Spend less time explaining yourself

• Makes your Email look professional

Tip• Add a permanent signature in your Email account so you don’t have to write it in each email (Just go to Email Settings)

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Basic Fundae• Think twice how an Email will affect your Personal Branding. You are what your Email projects you to be. If used improperly, you may end up seeming as an immature goofy undergraduate to your evaluator. Remember also to do a Spell Check.

• NEVER send inappropriate content! And jokes, limericks, forwards etc to your Professional contacts (Professors/Graduate Students/Alumni/Seniors). They are not only irritating but sometimes people may mark you as Spam and he/she may never read your Email again. You are not in Class X anymore

• Keep Email Brief – Short and Simple is the way to go. Usually not more than one Screen length. Its not a letter to your high school sweetheart!

• Always use Professional fonts-No comic Sans and Gothic fonts.

• No Winkies Please! .

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Two Lines are sufficient Hello Prof/Dr X,

I am a B.Tech pre-final year (5th sem) student of Civil Engineering from NIT Silchar and I am writing to explore the possibility of pursuing a project under your Guidance in the ensuing summer of 2011. (Intern Apping)OrI am a B.Tech final year student of Civil Engineering from NIT Silchar in India and I am applying to your university for Graduate studies in Transportation Engineering for fall 2012. Since my research interests are similar to yours, I am writing to explore the possibility of a position in your lab. (GradSchool Apping)Tips

1. If the Professor is Indian, address him as Sir/Dr. X Sir2. If foreign, always address him as Prof/Dr. X. No Sir business. (V. Imp)3. IITians / NITians have this ridiculous habit of mentioning in the first

para of Email how prestigious these Instis are in India. There’s no need for that as they already know!

Email Content - Intro

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Email Content - BodyTwo short Paragraphs are sufficient.

• Content - Some people are of the opinion that body should contain your entire CV or at the end of your Email. Many disagree including me as it makes your Email too cramped. Also better options are available (Later).

• First Para - Write your Research Interests/Areas of Interest here. Also, your CPI (If it’s a good one. Needn’t mention if not). If you have read some paper of the Prof, write a short line mentioning you have. Also write your skills if any –(Like GIS/ StaadPro/ ANSYS/ Matlab)

• Second Para – Time to boast . Papers, Projects, Trainings, Internships, Scholarships et al. Don’t elaborate too much. Second year students may mention your Techfest paper presentations/contests winnings/coding war wins too. Third year students should elaborate on your Summer (After 4th semester) and Winter (After 5th semester) Projects/Trainings.

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Email Content – Sign off

No more than three lines

I’ll be more than happy to work on the project beyond the summer too. Please find my attached CV for your kind perusal. Anticipating an encouraging response.

Regards,SIGNATURE

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Smarter way to send CVWhy?• Active Professors are VERY busy people. They have to take classes, write grant proposals and reports, guide B.Tech/Graduate students, Work on Projects and Publish papers.• Most Profs receive HUNDREDS of Emails daily. They won’t spend more than 10 secs glancing at your boring mail. Very less chances they will open your attachment.• You will need this if you apply for Graduate Studies. It is the best way to let people know about your work and existence.

Tips: 1. Embed/Type your CV in the website and send the link instead of

an attachment. Chances of a reply from a Professor becomes tenfold.

2. Needn’t know HTML or Flash! Use Google Sites or Weebly (better).

3. Best time to make it is during Summer break after 4th semester. After that, continuously build your CV as you gather more qualifications. Elaborate!

4. Put your codes/papers/project reports/Scanned copies of certificates etc.

5. Helps in keeping track of your progress in B.Tech years.

MAKE YOUR ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL HOMEPAGE

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Final Power Bits 1. Don’t become TOO formal. Indian students have the bad habit of

following their school grammar books too literally. You are not in Queen’s land anymore! So no ‘due deference’, ‘due respect and humble submission', 'I hope I am not taking too much of your valuable time’ crap.

2. NVR EVR write Emails in SMS English! Its irritating on a PC screen and wholly unprofessional. It shows that you don’t give enough importance to the person to spend time writing a properly formatted email. Most busy people won’t reply.

3. Don’t send attachments in proprietary formats as far as possible-like .psd etc. Try .pdf. If you MUST, then send it in the format that most people are likely to use.

4. Keep the tone of the Email positive by using positive and action words.

5. Be formal at all times in professional communication. Everything in your Email should project that you mean business. Nothing else. So no Hey! And Howdy!

Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

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Brought to you by Civil Engineering Society, an active student body of National Institute of Technology, Silchar committed to powering the dreams and careers of all its members.

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