Four Surprising Benefits of Email Writing for Career Development

Effective email writing allows you to create a good first impression

Often, the first communication a professional makes with a potential employer, superior, colleague, or client is through email. Email gives a professional the opportunity to make a strong first impression by showcasing their personality, character, and competence in written form.

Unfortunately, most professionals fail to use this opportunity as they send poor signals to their readers by delivering rushed or poorly written emails. By not taking the time to consider how they would like their readers to perceive them, they impede their chances of advancing in their careers. Decision makers do not have a full picture of who the professional is and what their strengths are. As a result, the initial impression they have of the professional from their direct communications with them highly influences their decision to hire or promote the professional.

Managing how others perceive you through your words is crucial. Successful professionals make the most of email communications to showcase both their competence and their character. By sending positive signals to others, they make themselves professionally desirable. This also allows employers to quickly assess whether a candidate is a good fit for the company’s culture and needs.

Effective email writing increases your chance of getting hired

According to research, 59% of hiring managers considers spelling and grammar errors on resumes as a deal breaker. But even before a candidate’s resume reaches the desk of a hiring manager, the candidate needs to reach out to them through email.

When a candidate is looking for work, email is usually the first means of communication with a potential employer. This initial introduction is just as important as the resume. The impression they make during this step will factor into the judgments of the hiring manager.

Executives consider excellent writing skills reflective of the candidate’s intelligence and communication skills. Based on the way a candidate writes and introduces themselves through email, the candidate can stand out from the rest of the applicants as being more competent and better to work with.

Effective email writing helps you get promoted

Top managers and executives spend a lot of time checking and double-checking their emails before they send them. This is not only to ensure that mistakes are avoided but also that the information contained is clear and precise. This is crucial as the direction they provide will have a significant impact on the operation of the business.

That’s why before promoting an employee, they also carefully assess how well he/she communicates through email. Is he/she careful when writing emails? Can he/she give clear and effective directions to the rest of the team? Will he/she communicate with potential clients in a manner that strengthens their confidence and loyalty to the business?

Between two professionals with the same set of skills, the one that gets promoted is typically the one with stronger communication skills as they are crucial to managing other members of the organization and coordinating their efforts towards achieving the organization’s business goals.

Effective email writing enables you to boost your productivity

The average time spent reading and replying to emails is 11.2 hours. This is over a quarter of the usual 40-hour work week. It is usually the main means by which information is relayed throughout the rest of the company, how its workforce collaborates, and how most instructions are delivered.

Writing better emails allows professionals, especially manager, to better drive the efficiency and productivity of their teams. Writing clear and concise instructions through email enables teams to work effectively, avoid mistakes, and do things right the first time. Professionals who are able to provide direction to the collective efforts of the organization are the ones who see the most advancement and success in their careers.