At the start of the school year, when employers are overwhelmed with applications, a simple sentence can be enough to make you stand out.
Everyone has already written “Hello, I hope you are well” to start a professional email, like a mechanical courtesy that no one really notices. The problem is that this introduction, which is too banal, can give the impression of having put no effort into this first contact. In a recruitment context, where every detail counts, the catchphrase then becomes an important signal for the recipient…
According to Nancy Roberts, specialist in workplace communication interviewed by Metrocertain sentences should be avoided if you want to maximize your chances of being read, understood and, ultimately, considered. But something else makes all the difference. Indeed, for Nancy Roberts, the opening “I hope you’re doing well” belongs to the past. Too worn, too impersonal, it arouses neither interest nor sympathy. “It’s tired and overused,” she explains.
Far from creating a connection, this sentence would establish a distance: it is based on an assumption, as if the person’s state were self-evident. “It assumes that people are fine, because we don’t really ask them.”she adds. It also highlights the gap between the formula and the reality of daily professional life. Imagining someone sincerely responding to this type of greeting highlights the problem: the phrase does not invite a real exchange, it remains a facade. And this observation applies to all other automatic banalities, whether it is a “Happy Monday” or a “I hope the week starts well.” These empty politenesses, supposed to soften the message, risk above all weakening the impact of what follows.
However, the specialist points out that the solution is not to erase all signs of conviviality. A cold message, reduced to a transmission of documents or a request without an accompanying formula, seems abrupt. “It only takes a second to say something more polite and gentle, so I prefer a banality rather than nothing at all… but we can do better than that,” she nuances.
The idea is not to reinvent the prose of each email, but to adopt an introduction that demonstrates attention and a minimum of research. The specialist gives the example of a simple, but more engaging sentence: “Hello Rachel, I’m sure you’re very busy, but I’d really like to talk to you about something.” Nothing extravagant, but the formula recognizes the reality of office life and values the person in front. She suggests that her expertise is being sought, which makes the message more human and more credible.
In the context of recruitment, this personalized approach becomes even more crucial. Sticking to a boilerplate formula can give the impression that the same email was sent to ten other companies. A tagline that mentions the company’s values or projects immediately shows that an effort has been made to understand its world. This is why the sentence “I know you talk about X a lot on your website, I would like to know more about how this manifests in the business,” is one of the best starters in the recruitment process.
This hook establishes a basis for exchange and avoids the impression of a massive sending. However, once attention has been captured, we must also avoid the opposite excess: not drown the reader in various questions. In short, be courteous, but also direct and relevant.
