Do you send emails keeping the time in mind?
By greengal
@greengal (4286)
United States
March 12, 2007 10:36pm CST
I was required to send in my resume to a consultant to be able to apply for a work authorization Visa here. I first wrote to him on Friday evening, since my husband and I decided to do it only then and the consultant responded on Saturday morning. He sent me the related documents and asked me to mail him my resume. I was busy till late night on Saturday and was wondering whether to mail him then or not.After all its for a professional purpose and wasn't sure if I should wait till Monday. Since the deadline is fast approaching I didn't ponder too long and sent him the resume.
In all email inboxes, the time a mail has been received is displayed. So if someone were keeping a watch on that, sending mails at odd hours wouldn't look good at all..especially if it is for a professional purpose.
With personal mails it is fine since friends and family don't mind what time you mail them.
Do you look at the time before you send an official/ professional mail? Do you think it should be kept in mind...do you think recruiters and employers look at the time you send in emails?
2 people like this
16 responses
@anonymili (3138)
•
13 Mar 07
As someone who works in HR and recruits for a company, I don't care what time an email is sent. I often get direct applications from candidates sent at the weekend and I don't care if they sent it at 10am or 8pm or 1am as long as they've provided the information I requested I'm happy to check it. I don't expect to get emails from recruitment consultants at the weekend but even if I do I just assume they've logged into their work email from home and treat it the same as any other email I'd receive from them.
Don't get caught up in what time to send emails green goddess hun, just make sure you put your all into sending the best possible covering email you can write tailored to each application. I'm sorry I've answered this from a professional point of view but I've worked in this industry for over 10 years now so it's how I think all the time - I have never heard of anyone thinking it wrong to receive an email sent at 11 at night or even 3 in the morning! Good luck :)
1 person likes this
@greengal (4286)
• United States
14 Mar 07
This is exactly what I was looking for anony,it's good to hear it from the professionals themselves. Now I know it doesn't matter too much and as you said I should be working on the mail itself than the time I want to send it. Thank you so much for clearing this out for me!:) Appreciated!
1 person likes this
@anonymili (3138)
•
28 Mar 07
Thanks for the best response on this one green goddess. Glad my response answered your query. I've had applications on a Monday morning and noted the time the email was sent as being 4a.m. and unless you sound drunk (from your typing) there is no reason to suspect anyone would care what time you actually sent it. They might even assume that you were so committed to applying for this particular position that you spent hours writing out your covering email and altering your CV specifically for the post. It's not unheard of to actually tailor your CV for different job applications, for example, you might want to put the key skills at the top that are most relevant for the job you're applying for :)
@charitymvula (489)
•
13 Mar 07
I always look at the time before sending a orofessional email that has a deadline linked to it, even if they will only look at it later. the thing is, i tend to look at emails like I would a phone call...i would never send an email when i know the offices are closed or the person i want to speak to is away on holiday (they send out a holiday email). i always make sure my emails are sent during office hours and before their deadline! And to answer the question, i used ot work in a recruitment agency and we did look at what time emails were sent, and sorted them out accordingly. if it was sent after a job deadline we did not consider it, it was considered unprofessional to send emails outside of deadlines and working hours!
1 person likes this
@greengal (4286)
• United States
14 Mar 07
Hmm, that was what I am worried about too. Deadlines I agree but sending mails at non-working hours might not look good. But again some look at it and some others don't. So I guess I have to keep my fingers crossed and hope the one I'm mailing to doesn't mind..lol
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
13 Mar 07
To be honest I don't think they do as we used to have them sent at all hours when I was working as a Manager. They where there ready on a Monday Morning. And that was when the Admin started working through them. So no I don't think they do.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
13 Mar 07
I know what you mean... so it depends on what kind of impression you want to convey. If I don't mind or want to let me know I can keep late nights, I send my resumes at 2-3am. ;-)
If I wake up early.. probably 7-8am.
Then again, if it is a hot position, likely your time would be missed anyway since there are so many resumes. But it wouldn't hurt to put in the extra effort to get noticed - which is really the most important thing. I know of company who just choose randomly the first 20 - and if they fit the bill, they are hired and that's it for the remaining 500.
@JBTECH (26)
• United States
13 Mar 07
Yes, I do keep the time in mind with what I send in to a company for review or a new resume for review. Because it shows that you actually care what you are doing. If you send it one minute before deadline. That might be a bad thing. Because some businesses want to have something in there hand for sure and not have to worry about that person is going to be unreliable with anything. Even if it is before they are apart of the business. That's what I think. What do you think? Bravo, over and out.
@abstractrhyme (60)
• Canada
13 Mar 07
I never ever worry about the time when I email someone.
I too have been looking for jobs online. Often I will find a job that is only accepting resume's until a certain date. Even if it is 11:30pm on that date I'll send it my resume even though I know it probably won't be read until the next day.
I don't think recruiters look at the time that you send in your resume. And if they do.. well they would have no reason to think that one is irresponsible for sending in a resume in the middle of the night. Perhaps you just found the job listing? Perhaps you have a day job and the night time is the only reason to use the internet? There are so many variables. I think what is most important is the kind of experience that you are sending on your resume, and not the time that you email it to them.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
28 Mar 07
Yes, I look at the time, and I do think that recruiters and employers look at the time you sent the emails too.
@deeeky (3667)
• Edinburgh, Scotland
13 Mar 07
If someone is going to be that meticulous at looking at what time we posted an email begars belief. You should get extra points on your card in the fact that you are able to send an email in the first place and also the fact that you can use a computer or have one.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
13 Mar 07
No I don't. I sometimes look at the time on my emails but they seen to give time span. The date is correct but I don't have a clue what time it was sent.
1 person likes this
@kathy77 (7486)
• Australia
13 Mar 07
Yes I do keep the time in mind when I send a professional email to someone, and you are right we can send out other email no matter what time it is and they don't mind, I always look at the time I received the mail and what time I send my mail so I have a rough idea what time it is and whether it is a respectable time to be sending my mail to them. No really I think that is a bit hard it all depends I think who they are and what it is exactly.
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
13 Mar 07
I often look at the time I receive emails mainly to see how long it took them to get to me. As far as sending I figure it really doesn't matter what time it is when I send an email, the receiver is going to open it when the time is right for them. When a deadline is involved I would say mail as soon as possible especially if waiting might mean the recruiter reads someone else's email before yours and is impressed so not so interested in yours.
@ratburn (939)
• Philippines
13 Mar 07
i've also wondered about this. i am applying for jobs now and i'm guilty of sending them emails at weird hours. i'm thinking it might affect the application but then that 's the only convenient time for me. at the end, i'm thinking your skills are far more important than any time stamp.
1 person likes this
@aditya0376 (415)
• India
13 Mar 07
well i am not into time keeping when i write emails....maybe next time i will try to be...
1 person likes this
@weemam (13372)
•
14 Mar 07
To be completely honest I have never given it a thought , but in saying that I always look at the time an email has been sent to me , I don't think an employer would think about that either , I would think as long as you have it to them before it is due would be the main thing xx
@maribea (2366)
• Italy
28 Mar 07
i don't think that sending your mail late in the evening should be considered a bad thing...I would rather think that you are working hard on your apllication no matter the time and the day...of course you are not supposed to receive any answer to your email until the next week starts...but opening your email and looking at the time, the consultant might think...how interested she is...she is so willing to work that she was there sending the email on Saturday night...I think it is a positive thing...of course this is my opinion...I cannot imagine if the consultant agrees with me or not
