Health and Human Services Professional Development

Hey You! Salutations for Success…and Disaster by   Jill Bowers   on   February 22, 2014   Hey you! Hi Jill! Think you are close enough with a professor or boss to address them with the salutation of your preference? You might want to reconsider. It is not something that gets to me (assuming that the salutation does not have a negative tone and there is no name calling). I have, however, heard enough other professors and supervisors complain about this that I can tell you that it’s something that means something to many of them. It will serve you well to think about the salutation you use. It’s not as if the professionals who have an issue with it are on any kind of “power trip” (most of them anyway), rather the pet peeves surrounding the proper salutations are centered on the belief that young adults should respect individuals who are in positions of authority. Generally, they have worked hard to earn their degrees and titles so they can be in positions to hel...

Avoid the Email Train Wreck: Five Tips for Writing Professional Emails by   Danielle Wolf, Guest Author   on   March 23, 2014   As college students, we are all focusing on that next phase in our lives. This can be different for each and every one of us. Yet, whether we are on the track towards social, teaching, health care, or other professional careers and our next step to success in the “real world,” it is important to have a good understanding of how to write a professional email. If you don’t, you could be at-risk for a trainwreck of negative responses (for example, you could miss out on an internship opportunity, be the subject of your professors’ Facebook posts, begin to notice that your boss is avoiding you, or try to make important points in meetings only to have your supervisor ignore you).    Email etiquette is important. Thus, as we apply for jobs, graduate school, or communicate with our professors, it is important to show these...

Email Etiquette by   Jill Bowers  & Sabrina Roley   on   December 26, 2014   Stop!! Before you press the “send” button, be sure to follow these steps for sending professional emails! Email has become a go-to medium for daily communication; it’s time-saving and cost-effective, yet there are several things that you need to keep in mind… 1) Check the “To” and “CC” lines… I’m sure you don’t want to send email with confidential or inappropriate content to your boss (or your mom), do you…? 2) Use proper salutations Use proper salutations. Err on the side of formal greetings (e.g., Mr. Ms., Dr., Representative, Professor) vs. “hey there” or their first name. 3) Be brief and to the point Use short paragraphs to break up the content you are trying to convey, and be concise. 4) Avoid emoticons, acronyms, abbreviations, and slang “Yo prof., I wasn’t in class today, did I miss anything? Btw, I was wondering if u could tell me if u’ll take points off 4...