Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

Note to 20-Somethings re: Etiquette

By

I love your enthusiasm, your knowledge of all that is cool, your grand ideas for saving the world. I like talking to you, learning from you, hanging out with you, and being a resource for you. I truly want you to succeed so get hip to the following:

  • Always, always, always write a thank you note when someone uses their valuable time and knowledge to help you. This can include meeting with you, writing a recommendation for you, sharing a job tip that lands you an interveiw, etc. The plus of an e-mail thank-you is that they then have your e-mail address handy and you are as close as the reply button. The plus of a handwritten note is that receiving something in the mail is a lovely surprise and even more special if the stationary is cool or the card worthy of display. It’s not necessary to do both e-mail and snail mail.
  • When you ask someone to write a Linkedin recommendation for you and they do, it is expected that you will reciprocate by recommending them on Linkedin without their requesting it. Failure to do so suggests you are clueless and possibly an ingrate.

The following are my preferences. You should observe to get a sense of what others you interact with prefer.

  • Don’t say ma’am to me. It makes you seem young and subservient. If that is how you are perceived, it is how you will be treated. I know your parents taught you to do this, but now is the time to stop.
  • Call me by my first name but never preceded by Miss as in Miss Laura (too old south for me and again subservient). If you can’t manage that, please use my correct title which is Dr. My husband’s last name is not Wolfe so you’re not talking to me when you say Mrs. Wolfe. Pay attention and address people appropriately. Using incorrect titles is sloppy. You can ask if unsure.

I say the above with kindness because you probably just don’t know. For those who have these points covered already, you can ignore this one. You know who you are (and I do too).

As always, I am happy to talk with you more. Just give me a call or shoot me an e-mail.

What do you think?

Writing

By

Do you hear people saying the written word is dead? In what world is that the case? I find myself reading and writing more than ever. Those I know are always sharing things with me to read which suggests they are consuming much written info too.

Reading material I peruse daily includes e-mail, blog posts, messages, newsletters, articles, resumes, linkedin, facebook and twitter updates, plus books and e-books.

A lot of technically proficient people are out there, many with advanced degrees and kick-butt experience. The ones I see having great success are those who can communicate what they know most effectively and writing well is a big part of that success.

It’s a skill to cultivate.

 

What do you think?