saw Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Is it me (and am I invisible in cyberspace maybe?) or do people not seem to feel the need to send even a courtesy response to most emails? I've been trying to network to get a job for a while and have noticed how few people will actually respond to emails or to follow ups (I'm averaging 50 per cent success). I'm not talking about emails I send out "cold", like to recruiters or companies, because they have no obligation to me and no obligation to respond. I'm talking about people I know, in some cases well (my brother!) who will say, yes, love to help, send me an email and we'll get together. I will email with specific questions (not asking for work, following all the "rules" for networking emails) and get nothing back. Or I get one email saying great, let's get together when I'm back/have time. I follow up (at least once) with specifics and hear nothing. I don't get it. This even happens when I'm paying, like with my lawyer whom I pay to write my will (takes literally six months to get back to me!) and when I'm the one doing the favor, like a colleague whom I promised to set up with two guys I know who may be able to help him find financing for his company (a month ago he said he'd send me info that I could pass on to my friends to see if they can help). I followed up last week and was told, yes, he's interested in talking to them and will send me the info. Nothing yet. I just don't get it. Do people just not respond anymore? A simple brush-off email would be fine (sorry I haven't got time, maybe in a few months, would get the message across!). It just feels weird to be told one thing (oh yes, love to help) and get no response. Is this just the way things are now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 In general I use my personal email infrequently. I get so much spam I sometimes don't see real emails addressed to me. Work email I would check daily or more often and respond daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Sometimes people feel overwhelmed with long wordy emails with long paragraphs. I think with texting as the new norm people want short, esay to read emails they can answer with a few words. Are yours like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 My dh sent an email to other people in management at the company that he works in (as a company they have been working on departmental communication) that said "the first person to respond to this email and then come find me in person before noon gets a $25 gift card." One person replied via email but didn't go find him in person and another went to find him in person, but didn't email! I guess there is a reason they need to work on communication! Anyway, it does seem as if you are not alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Could be automatically going into people's spam folder, or maybe they have 1000 messages to deal with and yours is one of those "this will take some thought, I want to do it justice but can't right now." What I do when I really want a quick response is, I start the message saying that. "Hello, could you please reply real quick just to let me know if you got this?" Then keep the message short and put the most important stuff first. Give them a couple of options for responding to your need. Make sure the title is not spammy. Also, if I send someone an important message, I will also send them a text telling them I sent them an email. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Sometimes people feel overwhelmed with long wordy emails with long paragraphs. I think with texting as the new norm people want short, esay to read emails they can answer with a few words. Are yours like that? Yep, following all the "rules" that I learned from career coaches etc. Friendly greeting, explanation of the connection where necessary (Dear G, remember me? I'm your sister?), one sentence description of me and what I do, specific questions for the reader so they don't think I'm just after a job, suggestion/request for phone call/coffee. One paragraph equivalent (broken down for clarity). Proofread minimum of three times so no errors. It works great with some but not others. What baffles me most are the ones where people initially respond and want to get together etc but fail to respond to my follow-ups. Of course no one is under any obligation to help me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saw Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 My dh sent an email to other people in management at the company that he works in (as a company they have been working on departmental communication) that said "the first person to respond to this email and then come find me in person before noon gets a $25 gift card." One person replied via email but didn't go find him in person and another went to find him in person, but didn't email! I guess there is a reason they need to work on communication! Anyway, it does seem as if you are not alone! That's what it feels like! I have some connections that could help this colleague whose financing runs out in September and he cannot get it together to get me the info I need to pass on to my connections! There's not much in it for me, I'm just trying to be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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