A QUICK NOTE TO MY YOUNGER ACQUAINTANCES

A quick note to my younger acquaintances here who may be seeking internships this vacation.

1. When writing an email to a company, never assume the gender of the recipient - Dear Sir or Madam is acceptable. I've received enough Dear Mr. Petra or Dear Mr. Asamoah emails to last me a lifetime. I don't hold this against an applicant and my practice is to respond and then add a note that says, "I am a woman + a smiley emoji"...but someone else may consider this offensive.

2. An email to a non-friend or family member is a formal document. Use formal language. E.g. Hey! is for your friends. Short-hand and text-lingo are also, not acceptable. Pidgin English is a language form and acceptable as lingua franca in many places but it is not acceptable in Ghana for formal communication...you barb?

3. Sending your internship request letter as an attachment without a message in the body of your email is like putting a document in an envelope and posting it (regular post) without any letter. We don't know what to do with it. An email MUST have a message. Example:

Dear Madam/Sir,

I am a student of the XYZ university and I would like the opportunity to spend my vacation interning at your organization.

I have attached the internship request letter from my school. I can be reached on....(insert your phone number).

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you.

4. Pick your calls! When you put your number on an application don't go to bed and say, I didn't get called.

5. Be awake and alive and excited when you pick up your calls. Yes, we know you're lying down watching a movie. Yes, we know it's vacation and you're chilling but still...if you're not feeling yippidy yaaay, don't pick up but return the call when you can.

6. Finally, try to write simply, clearly, and correctly. "Am Akosua from the University of XYZ" is bad grammar.

I wish you success.

Petra Aba Writer. Author. Marketing Practitioner.  Thought leader.