Career advice
Curated writing from operators, recruiters, and HR leaders — written for people building real careers in HK.
In part 1 last week, we explored what tone is and why it matters in our formal email correspondence. In this section, we focus on language which will help you to make the right impression on your reader. Play it safe Using formal style, showing respect, is always the right choice in a professional context. Use the salutations below to open your email and greet your reader appropriately. Known reader:
We’ve all been there. You’re writing an email to a client or colleague. Before you hit send, you quickly skim your email for errors. Grammar, spelling and punctuation? Everything looks fine. You click send, confident of a job well done. Later, you receive a reply and something isn’t quite right. Your usually cordial colleague seems oddly distant. Your long-term client’s response to your enquiry is terse. Frankly, it’s all a bit awkward. What could have gone wrong?