<p>For example, if you say “Sorry, we don’t have any positions”. vs “Sorry, we don’t have any positions. :(”. Short emails might not technically be discourteous, but many people will take it as such (I know - I’ve seen people’s reactions to professor replies when they spam professors).</p>
<p>If you’re trying to be professional, definitely stay away from emoticons. Just inform them that there are no available positions at the current time. You can put something like “we regret to inform you” but keep away from the frowny faces</p>
<p>But do you have to be professional when replying to students? “We regret to inform you” still sounds impolite/insulting to students - and I know it - I’ve talked to a few of them. Granted, the types of friends I attract do tend to be significantly more neurotic than average, but still, I don’t want to unnecessarily alienate them</p>
<p>I have never seen emails like the ones you are talking about with emoticons, I think most of the time they are just of the copy and paste variety.</p>
<p>If you’re replying to students about something professional, like a job or something, you have to be professional.</p>
<p>The phrase you’re using sounds like it needs to be professional- stay away from emoticons.</p>
<p>@OP - please give us an example of the situation you are talking about.</p>
<p>ie, who is sending the email, who will be receiving the email, and the context</p>
<p>if the local ice cream shop is sending out the email to teenagers, they might use the emoticons, and I wouldn’t like it, but it wouldn’t be horrible.</p>
<p>If the local newspaper is sending out the email to teenagers, I think it would be totally inappropriate to use the emoticons</p>
<p>In all cases, I think the sender can come up with a few extra chit-chat sentences to flush out the email… ie, thanks for expressing interest, we’ll keep your name on file, it was nice to meet you, hope you continue to enjoy our ice cream … </p>
<p>use words, not emoticons</p>
<p>business correspondence is not the same as instant messaging between friends</p>
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<p>What if it’s unpaid volunteer research?</p>
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<p>I’m actually advising a HS student who wants research, and he’s getting emails like that.</p>
<p>But in the future, I’ll be a grad student who will want to take HS students/undergrads for research, and thus I’ll have to inevitably send some emails like that</p>
<p>Be professional.</p>
<p>
It doesn’t matter, that is still a professional environment.</p>
<p>However, I personally disagree with the taboo of using emoticons in professional settings. The word ‘sorry’ doesn’t say much by itself without a plethora of superfluous words qualifying it, but ‘sorry :(’ implies sadness/regret, etc.</p>
<p>That being said, don’t use emoticons in professional emails.</p>
<p>Okay sure. But what are the penalties of being unprofessional?</p>
<p>You’ll look really tacky and kind of unintelligent, and obviously unprofessional.</p>
<p>Tacky and stupid.</p>
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<p>Which of course matters when you’re replying to fellow students.</p>
<p>ITT: being unprofessional is bad because you’ll look unprofessional!</p>
<p>You may not see “penalties” right away…but you’d be surprised how word of mouth travels. Always be professional, so that you get a good reputation for being just that.</p>
<p>What if someday that same person is hiring for a job, you apply, and they remember that unprofessional email?</p>
<p>It’s an extreme situation, but these things do actually happen.</p>
<p>A good friend of mine was going to a job interview. Got there early, had a few second chat with the receptionist and sat down. Another person walked in, was brusque with the receptionist. Both had the same credentials, resume, etc. My friend got hired. A few months in, she asked why she was hired. The supervisor told her, “You were pretty much the same, so I asked my receptionist what she thought.”</p>
<p>It really doesn’t take that much time to type out something like:</p>
<p>“Thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, all of our current positions have been filled. We will keep your application on file for future positions.”</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be long, just make it sound like you are capable of being courteous.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>This. And there are ways to make even what HGFM wrote softer, if you still feel like it’s a bit cold and harsh.</p>
<p>“Thank you for your interest in our XYZ position, but unfortunately, all of our current positions have been filled. We will certainly <a href=”%22definitely,%22%20if%20you%20want%20to%20go%20more%20casual">i</a>* keep your application on file for future positions, and will begin our hiring for next summer in April 2012. Please feel free to reach out to us then, and good luck with your summer job search."</p>
<p>I wouldn’t use emoticons in a professional email unless it’s with someone you know well about something non-work related (ie, your gossip buddy at work that you’re sending a light hearted email to about the coffee maker being broken, or something).</p>
<p>I think someone should be able to come up with a better reason than they might be in position to hire you some day as that’s a pretty terrible reason. And being rude to a receptionist at a place you’re interviewing isn’t at all analogous to including a sympathetic emoticon in a rejection email.</p>
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I don’t think “I regret to inform you…” by itself sounds curt/impolite at all. It’s a pretty standard reply, isn’t it? </p>
<p>I think one good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if you’re a student, the amount of time you spend thinking about how you are perceived by professors and what your professors think of you is NOT proportional to the amount of time professors spend thinking about you. Therefore, if a professor doesn’t reply to your email or only has a short response, it’s not necessarily a reflection of their judgment of your abilities/personality but a lack of time on their part. In other words, don’t take it personally. Especially if it’s an email. As we all know, the subtleties of tone get lost over email.</p>
<p>Edit: If you are a graduate student who has to turn away undergrads, I wouldn’t necessarily use that form language (IME, academia tends to be a little less formal). If I were you, I’d write something like, “Hi, -insert student name-. Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, we don’t have any open positions right now. But I encourage you to keep an eye out on our website where we post all our openings.” </p>
<p>When I was looking for researched opportunities, I did email some professors cold. Most of them didn’t reply, and I think that’s actually fairly common.</p>
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<p>Well then, how about just plain old common courtesy?</p>
<p>You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat people in subordinate positions.</p>
<p>Using “:(” is discourteous? That’s stupid.</p>