Step 1: Acquire an adult email address and set up your signature.
As a high school student looking towards college, it's time for you to have a professional sounding email that can travel with you throughout your academic and professional career. This email address should be a version of your name such as FirstName.LastName@email.com.
Some of you have school email addresses that fit this requirement. However, I caution you that you will likely lose access to your email address and any related files at graduation, so I recommend having a separate permanent email address for your professional endeavors. I personally like gmail on the Google platform because it is free, gives you access to GoogleDrive/Docs/Meet for professional collaboration, and is permanent. If you need to make an adult email address start here.
Your professional email address should have a signature that explains who you are and how to reach you. This signature should be at the end of every email that you send. Every email server will allow you to create a signature. A good signature for high school students looks like this:
Evelyn Jones
Pittsburgh Public Schools Taylor Allderdice High School | Class of 2022
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
email: evelyn.jones.344@gmail.com
cell: 412.123.4567
Some of you have school email addresses that fit this requirement. However, I caution you that you will likely lose access to your email address and any related files at graduation, so I recommend having a separate permanent email address for your professional endeavors. I personally like gmail on the Google platform because it is free, gives you access to GoogleDrive/Docs/Meet for professional collaboration, and is permanent. If you need to make an adult email address start here.
Your professional email address should have a signature that explains who you are and how to reach you. This signature should be at the end of every email that you send. Every email server will allow you to create a signature. A good signature for high school students looks like this:
Evelyn Jones
Pittsburgh Public Schools Taylor Allderdice High School | Class of 2022
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
email: evelyn.jones.344@gmail.com
cell: 412.123.4567
Step 2: Simple and clear subject lines.
All emails should have subject lines . The simpler and clearer the better because it lets the recipient know what to expect when they are sorting through potentially hundreds of emails.
Here are some subject lines that are useful for high school and college students:
Here are some subject lines that are useful for high school and college students:
- Following up about Thursday's class
- Letter of reference
- Scheduling a time to meet to discuss essay assignment
- Inquiring about internship
- Thank you
- Looking forward to our conversation
- Question about lab instructions
Step 3: The salutation.
The salutation is how you open the email. Most frequently, just start with:
Dear Person's Name
For high school and college students, I recommend that you commence all correspondence by using the recipient's last name, as in Dear Ms. Jones. If Ms. Jones then replies to you and signs her email as "Evelyn," you can then switch to her first name if you feel comfortable doing so.
The tricky part here is about the titles. In academic and professional contexts, it is important to get a person's title correct. Most frequently you will be using Dr., Mr., or Ms. Anyone who has an MD, PhD, DO, EdD, DDS, EngD, DNP, or any other advanced degree with a "D" after their name should be addressed as "Dr." The one exception to this is that attorneys who have JD go by either Mr. or Ms. unless they also have a PhD, MD, or EdD. Because almost all professionals have an online presence, some quick and creative Googling should show you whether to use Dr., Mr., or Ms.
As a general rule, do not us Miss or Mrs. in professional emailing unless you are positive that it is the title that the person prefers. You would know this, for example, if one of your teachers has Mrs. Jones at the top of her syllabus or on her classroom door.
Occasionally, you will meet someone who prefers the gender neutral Mx. They will let you know if that is their preference.
Dear Person's Name
For high school and college students, I recommend that you commence all correspondence by using the recipient's last name, as in Dear Ms. Jones. If Ms. Jones then replies to you and signs her email as "Evelyn," you can then switch to her first name if you feel comfortable doing so.
The tricky part here is about the titles. In academic and professional contexts, it is important to get a person's title correct. Most frequently you will be using Dr., Mr., or Ms. Anyone who has an MD, PhD, DO, EdD, DDS, EngD, DNP, or any other advanced degree with a "D" after their name should be addressed as "Dr." The one exception to this is that attorneys who have JD go by either Mr. or Ms. unless they also have a PhD, MD, or EdD. Because almost all professionals have an online presence, some quick and creative Googling should show you whether to use Dr., Mr., or Ms.
As a general rule, do not us Miss or Mrs. in professional emailing unless you are positive that it is the title that the person prefers. You would know this, for example, if one of your teachers has Mrs. Jones at the top of her syllabus or on her classroom door.
Occasionally, you will meet someone who prefers the gender neutral Mx. They will let you know if that is their preference.
Step 4: Acknowledge our joint humanity.
Start the email with a simple pleasantry. This is a polite formality, but if the email turns into multiple emails back and forth, you only have to do it in the first one. If necessary, this can clarify who you are. Some good examples of this are:
- I hope you're well.
- I hope you had a nice weekend.
- It was nice meeting you at Uncle Jim's wedding.
- I am a student in your Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9am Macroeconomics lecture.
- I received your contact information from my friend, Jeff Martin, who is my classmate at Taylor Allderdice High School.
Step 5: The body of the email.
As briefly as possible, explain why you are writing. Below are a few examples:
- I wanted to follow up about the public policy internship that you mentioned in class. It seems like something that would be a great fit for me because I hope to major in political science and pursue law school. Can you please send me the website where I can read more about the program?
- I am applying to college to study biology on a pre-med track and I was hoping that you would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for my application. I believe I did my best work in your class and that I grew substantially in my lab skills during our in class lab assignments. I would be happy to provide a resume or meet with you to discuss this further.
- I really liked learning about your work as a financial planner when we talked at the wedding. You mentioned that you would be willing to discuss this with me further, so I am writing to see if we can set up a time to Skype in the coming weeks.
- I wanted to take a minute to thank you for meeting with me to discuss your career as a financial planner. Your recommendation that I take AP Economics senior year was particularly valuable.
Step 6: Closing sentiment.
Again, mostly a polite formality, but it gives you the opportunity to convey gratitude or any other sentiment. Here are some good examples:
- Thank you!
- I hope you have a happy holiday season.
- I look forward to hearing from you.
- Please tell Mrs. Jones that I was asking for her.
Step 7: The signature.
Sign your full name. If you go by a nickname that the recipient would know you better as, you can use that too. Other options are:
- Wei "David" Li
- John Joseph "JJ" McDonald
Step 8: Proofread!
Read your email aloud to make sure you have no spelling or grammatical errors. By reading aloud, you are far more likely to catch your mistakes.
Step 9: Reply quickly.
When you receive an email, especially a reply to an email that you sent, reply within 24 hours.
Assignment: Write a professional email.
Time to put these skills to good use! Email us at the I Look Like a Cardiologist program to show that you read and understand this module. Specifically, tell us one thing that you are looking forward to learning in the program and one thing that you would like your assigned mentor to know about you. Our email is info@ilooklikeacardiologist.com.