INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — College students using the miracle of modern technology to reach out to professors and potential employers may be doing more harm than good, according to a professor at Indiana University.
Never use email or text for important, delicate or questionable communication. It's better not to have a written history of these discussions.
Email and texting are efficient and convenient, but drawbacks include potential misinterpretation of the message or a negative reaction from the recipient, according to Jim Parham, who teaches journalism classes at IU.
“Somewhere in the e-revolution, we found that short-form messages, delivered electronically, are an adequate replacement for face-to-face interaction,” states Parham.
Email “wars”, endless strings of communique and unrepentant language can make a bad situation worse, according to Parham.
“When you write a professor about missing today’s class, it’s probably not a priority on her/his to-do list. It’s even worse to ramble on with long-winded excuses and pabulum.”
Many employers have switched to electronic applications on their Web sites for both job applicants and internships. Unfortunately, this company-centric process eliminates the human interaction, thereby negating any interpersonal skill strength a candidate may possess.
Here’s Parham’s partial list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”
Do
- Write emails and text with the same care and specificity of a hard-copy document.
- Use full sentences and proper grammar.
- Construct your email as you would any written correspondence, with a beginning, middle and end.
- Determine if an email or text is a proper way to communicate with another party.
- Understand that colleges and universities retain most student emails in their databases, keeping a record of your informal banter.
Don’t
- Take the easy route on an internship or job hunt by simply “applying online.” Press hard and find a warm body willing to talk.
- Use popular online abbreviations and electronic shorthand. The recipient may have no idea what you mean.
- Use email or text for important, delicate or questionable communication. It’s much better not to have a written history of these discussions.
- Use electronic correspondence to wage war or bicker. In the heat of the battle, it’s much too easy to “fire off an email.”
- Rely on email as your sole source of social and business interaction. Human interaction and telephone calls can help you gauge another person’s demeanor and viewpoint much more accurately.
