How formal should your emails to colleagues be?
Just finished my freshman year and have an internship coming up at a boutique. I’m just wondering how formal/casual your emails to colleagues are. I don’t want to be rude, but I also don’t want to be unnatural.
I'm not sure about the answer of your question, but how did you get an internship for the summer after freshman year? Are you from a target?
I go to a target + people in my business frat referred me to their old internship
As formal as possible as an intern.
Are abbreviations like btw acceptable? Sorry if it sounds dumb.
I would just be professional. Avoid being robotic-formal, but also don't be relaxed to the point of using abbreviations like "btw."
Remember that you are the intern. You are trying to impress your team with professionalism and communication/email skills. Being too loose may come off as inappropriate in my opinion.
Please don’t say btw in your emails.
Just be respectful. That doesn’t mean you start your emails with “Dear Mr. Smith”, but it does mean you write in full sentences and say please and thank you.
we use FYI instead of btw
Is it okay to use ‘Hi’ to start emails, or is ‘Dear’ expected?
Hi is fine internally. Dear for networking, external emails, anything formal
didn't know that... got a BB offer despite using Hi for all my emails
Who still uses 'Dear' lol? We're millennials not characters in a historical drama.
Wouldn’t use “dear” in an email unless you are someone’s grandmother or a downtrodden Nigerian prince
You’re overthinking it
Just copy what they do. Some people in the team are usually more chill than others. Start off being formal then respond in the way which the other one emails
Here is how to write every e-mail ever:
Name,
[Body of e-mail using complete sentences, punctuation, no abbreviations. Acronyms are fine if they are obvious (like EBITDA, FYI). Get to the point succinctly. Use bullets if helpful. Don’t do that weird “Hope you are well” or “how’s it going?” shit.]
Thank you, [Your Name]
Actual bankers have written emails to me with "hope you're well"?
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