Gone for the most part are resumes and cover letters dropped into the box at the local post office. Email has become the most commonly used method for applying for jobs and following up with employers. But despite email’s popularity, sometimes job seekers aren’t quite sure how email etiquette should be approached when used in a job search.  Here are a few tips:

1. Since email lacks the tone and expressiveness of face to face communication, it is important to always sprinkle your emails with courteous statements.  For example you may want to open by saying “Good Morning…” and close with a hearty “Thank you for your help…”  Politeness will go a long way in making sure your email doesn’t come off as terse or demanding.
2. Make sure your subject heading accurately reflects the content of your email.  Many recruiters are receiving lots of spam in their email, so including a descriptive, accurate and brief description may decrease the chances of your email landing in the junk folder.
3. Keep your emails formal when interacting with employers and recruiters.  Avoid using emoticons (smiley faces, frown faces etc.) when writing your email.  The use of emoticons may come across as juvenile and unprofessional.
4. Avoid the use of caps and bold typeface because it may be interpreted as shouting.  Shouting is always considered rude and aggressive in emails.
5.  Take the time to respond promptly to emails received from recruiters and employers. Even if you are unable to provide an adequate response immediately respond to tell the sender that you will respond at a later time/date.

Job candidates aren’t the only people who benefit from job fairs, if recruiters play their cards right, job fairs can become a lucrative resource for finding high quality job candidates and even making connections with employers.  But there are a few things recruiters need to do before they show up to a job fair.

Do Your Homework

Before forking over your hard earned money to participate in a job fair, do your part to investigate the company putting on the job fair.  Do they have an effective marketing and advertising plan in place to promote their job fair?  Are they able to attract other sought after law firms and legal recruiters?  Do they have a history of putting on successful job fairs?  You want to make sure that before you sign up with the job fair, they are experienced professionals, not amateurs.

Have A Plan In Place

Recruiters hoping to truly benefit from a job fair need to put a plan of attack in place before the job fair.  Make sure you have tweaked and polished your brand before going to the job fair.  Do you have a professional looking website, marketing materials and an efficient recruiting process in place?  Failing to polish your image and recruiting  process before attending a job fair may actually damage your image with not only job candidates but with your peers and even potential clients. 

Present The Right Image

Decide in advance what type of image you want to present at the job fair. Not only should your company’s marketing materials represent this image, but your booth and your personal style should also project this desired image.  When it comes to job fairs, image is very important and may become the deciding factor of whether or not someone stops at your booth .

(next: What a recruiter should and should not do at a job fair.)