Let me start this blog by saying I am not a communication professional, nor did I major in it in College. I am writing this blog from an experience stand point. I believe that strong communications are the backbone to many things: having good relationships, acing an interview, demonstrating knowledge and effective networking just to name a few. This specific blog entry is going to mainly cover electronic communications.

I have always been of the train of thought that picking up the phone was the most time efficient and effective way to communicate, however it seems that there will continue to be a radical shift towards electronic communications. This trend does not bother me, and I understand the shift as technology rapidly increases the ability to communicate instantaneously with each other.

What does worry me is that we have become so lightning quick in our communications that we are not truly communicating effectively. Here are my tips for maintaining a strong form of communication in all that you do.

• First and foremost, make sure you are regularly checking the email that you are using as your point of contact for career correspondence.
• Keep your communications formal across all platforms. If you worry about grammar in texts and tweets it will translate into appropriate writing when you are professionally networking or addressing correspondence in your job.
• My most important tip. READ YOUR FULL EMAIL! Countless times I have sent out an email with multiple topics and or questions, only to receive a response to one portion of it. We tend to just answer the last item addressed in the email. Make sure you read everything and respond to it!
• Read carefully. I have had many communications where there was confusion on the part of the reader because he/she didn’t read the message carefully. Not to say I am not guilty of miscommunicating at times, but this is an area that is very important.

The main point is that we always want to look competent and professional especially when it comes to communications that impact our career. Make sure to follow these tips, they will help you with navigating your career more effectively.

Regards,

John Greenblatt

CEO, Five Star Resume LLC.