Want to know what’s keeping me sane and distracted right now? Paradise on Hulu. Love is Blind on Netflix. Traitors on Peacock. White Lotus on Max. Plus Survivor is back and The Amazing Race starts next week. If you need to locate me, please reach out to my couch.
Per my last email
I went to HR Brew’s Talent Trifecta Summit last week. One of the panels was hosted by the geniously named podcast, Per my last email. I always get so mad when other people have great names. Jealous mad, not like actual mad. In just four words they’ve summed up everything about work today and our universal understanding of how email has taken over our lives. Not to mention how bad communicating through email has gotten.
It got me thinking about the worst email offender of all time…
I hope you’re well.
Let’s break this intro down.
Of course I hope you’re well.
Why would I hope you’re unwell?
Do I wish you were in a ditch somewhere? (well, maybe certain people)
And why am I hoping when hope isn’t a strategy?
It’s ludacris. And not the fun kind where he appears in the State Farm Commercials.
When did hoping people are well become the defacto email intro and how can we make it stop?
Be genuine or be quick
What if instead of feeling the need to insert some filler into the email you just got right into why you’re emailing in the first place?
Or you tried a genuine intro that let the person know you actually care and actually have a real connection with them?
Does anyone think that “I hope you’re well” has magical properties to endear someone to you? Or has it become so pointless that our eyes immediately jump to the next sentence because we know there’s nothing to see here?
I’m curious if you wrote “I hope you’re not well” if the person would even know the difference. I might try this out. Stay tuned.
Shake things up
Let’s be real, it’s lazy. It shows you can’t bother to conjure up anything else and that’s why I advocate for getting to the point. Or try and say something truly meaningful. Or funny!
What if we approach the email like we do our elevator pitch or LinkedIn bio and try to open with something that will jar them out of their stupor?
I’m going to make your day with…another email!
So, a funny thing happened, I need that deliverable sooner. And by I, I mean the client.
Ready for something amazing? It’s an email from me.
Putting the mail in email
If our desire with email is to connect, let’s actually try to do that. Let’s try and write something to engage the recipient, not put them to sleep.
Do you have an email intro quandary? Send it to me and I’ll see if I can help you come up with a fun opener.
Feeling unconfident in your job search
(Yes, I know that un-confident isn't a word, but it so aptly describes it, right?)
If you're wanting to land the dream job, rock the first 90 days, and have your best year ever, it all starts with confidence. And while we grew up in the era of "fake it until you make it", sometimes we need more concrete and tactical advice.
Join Karen Worthy, an executive career transition coach, in her free Lunch & Learn on Thursday, March 6th for "From Uncertain to Confident: 5 Tactics to Increase Confidence During an Executive Job Search".
You've got this!
Where I’ve been and going
I had a great time presenting to Shelly Lombard’s Schmooze community about how to Lure them in with LinkedIn when you’re looking to completely change careers.
Speaking of Karen Worthy, I’ll be speaking to her community next week on How to Use Your Story to Stand Out and Land Your Next Role.
I’m hosting a LinkedIn office hours for a career coach’s community next week and then doing two workshops through Electives for a company looking to drive thought leadership and brand advocacy on LinkedIn.
If you enjoy my content, have attended a free workshop, or simply want to do something nice, I'd love for you to buy me a coffee (or glass of wine). This simple tool was built to allow readers or fans of creators to easily thank them for putting out content. So I'm giving it a whirl.
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