forbes.com – Segal Coaching LLC

What to Write (and Avoid) in Work Emails to Advance Your Career

I was honored to be quoted recently by Daniel Bortz, a contributor to Monster.com, in “13 things you should never write in a work email.”

Ah, the many thoughts and human interchanges that should never be reduced to email, and the myriad of ways you can be too casual (or not enough). Bortz captures a good many of them in his article.

Woman typing on laptop at workplace working in home office hand keyboard.

Conducting the interview for Bortz’s article, and reading it in print, brought me back to my former life as an attorney. At one point, I was tasked with reviewing a large set office correspondence. I skimmed through tons of emails. Thousands, in fact.

While the vast majority were innocuous – as boring as a string of indecisive lunch plans – I saw firsthand more than once how damaging certain private exchanges could be if they ever saw the light of day.

A quick and poorly thought (or worded) email can do a lot of damage, while a strategic one can enhance your credibility and grow your career.

Bortz is not the first, nor will he be the last, to sound the alarm on the damage – indeed, at times, the unending vortex of negative results – that a quick and poorly thought (or worded) email can do.

On the other hand, the goal with email is not only to avoid the downsides, but also to communicate, inviting others to respond and take action. So after you check out what to avoid in Bortz’s article, you can read what to include in mine: Four Steps to Creating Emails that Prompt Action and Get Results.

Anne Marie Segal is an executive coach, author and resume writer. She works with executives, senior attorneys and other leaders to clarify and heighten their personal branding, increase their impact and accelerate professional goals such as Board or C-Suite candidacy, other leadership advancement, career pivots and job transitions.

Image above: Adobe Stock.

On Forbes: 10 Professional Hurdles that Sabotage Your Networking Efforts

Everyone knows networking is the critical piece of the professional puzzle. Our career, business and job search goals depend on it.

Back in the day, you could put that aside, work hard and have a career for life. But that time has passed. In short, while “who you know, not what you know” has always been the ticket into the upper echelons, the need to network has rippled out to every single one of us. From CEO to student, we all need a strong base of support, not only to advance our careers but also to maintain the advances we have made.

So what if you are not great at networking? What then?

Up today on Forbes.com, my fourth article at the site and second in a series about business and career networking for people who find it a struggle…

Black executive shaking hands with female colleague

“Everyone knows networking is the critical piece of the professional puzzle. Our career, business and job search goals depend on it.

So what if you are not great at networking? What then?”

Read more at Forbes.com or check out my prior article with insights from J. Kelly Hoey and Dorie Clark (via Kathy Caprino), “Introverts: Creating a Network that Works for You.”

Anne Marie Segal is a career and leadership development coach, author, resume strategist and member of Forbes Coaches Council. She is founder of Segal Coaching, author of Master the Interview: A Guide for Working Professionals (available on Amazon.com) and a frequent public speaker in New York, Connecticut and beyond.

Image above: Adobe Images.

On Forbes: The Emotional Life Cycle of a Major Career Transition

Clients often ask for a roadmap for career transitions, whether they yearn for more meaning at work or have other motivations. While I can ask the right questions to uncover their passions and talents and how these intersect with the marketplace, paths taken vary widely and can be entirely unexpected.

Eco concept

Jake worked for five years as a transactional attorney and then turned to real estate, managing his family’s portfolio of rental properties. From there, he launched a third career as an artist, painting large-scale murals for corporate offices and collectors.

As an executive coach, I have a front row seat to major professional transitions of brave souls such as Jake. Clients often ask for a roadmap to make such a change of their own, whether they yearn for more meaning at work or have other motivations. While I can ask the right questions to uncover their passions and talents and how these intersect with the marketplace, paths taken vary widely and can be entirely unexpected.

Please click on the image of the caterpillar below for the link to the rest of this article, originally published on Forbes.com.

Image credit: Adobe Images.

On Your Resume: Strategy Before Writing, Read More on Forbes.com

“Why You Need a Strategy Before Writing Your Resume”: Check out my first article on Forbes.com.

“Why You Need a Strategy Before Writing Your Resume”

Many business leaders and others struggle to write a compelling resume, even those who make multimillion-dollar decisions on a daily or weekly basis.

It is not an easy task to sum up one’s professional life in a couple of pages, whether you have scores of accomplishments or relatively few.

Read more in my first article on Forbes.com!

Anne Marie Segal, career and leadership development coach, author, resume strategist and member of Forbes Coaches Council. For further articles and press, please click here.

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