From the course: Business Etiquette: Phone, Email, and Text

Phone etiquette: Creating a professional voicemail greeting

From the course: Business Etiquette: Phone, Email, and Text

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Phone etiquette: Creating a professional voicemail greeting

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Congratulations! After rounds of interviewing, you have landed the job of your dreams. You've prepared for this role, and now all you have to do is just show up for your first day. Your manager calls you the day before to let you know where you should show up on your first day of orientation, but you're unavailable, so the call goes to voicemail and your manager hears this. "Hey you all, if I didn't pick up, it's because I'm either biking, running, or in the garden. You know what to do when you hear the beep. Later." Or this. "You've reached the voicemail box of 123-456-7890." Your manager now hesitates to leave you a message because they're unsure if they've reached the right person. And even if they decided to leave you a voicemail, they couldn't because they hear this. "This mailbox is full and cannot accept any messages at this time." Because of your hiccup, your manager was discouraged from leaving the message and instead was left with a subpar impression of you. What's worse is that you were late to your first day because you didn't receive the necessary information. Creating a professional greeting for your voicemail is equally as important as knowing how to leave a voicemail for someone else. So, one by one, I'll give you the steps for setting up a professional voicemail greeting. First, greet the caller and introduce yourself and include your title and company. "Hi. You've reached the voicemail of Benito Marquez, Vice President of Marketing at XYZ company." Second, state that you're absent and offer a mutual call to action. "I'm unavailable right now -- please leave me a message and I'll call you back when I return." And lastly, share additional information any caller would need to know, like your email address. Now this is optional considering safety and confidentiality, so just only include information you feel comfortable sharing. Now when a person calls, they'll hear this. "You've reached the voicemail of Benito Marquez, Vice President of Marketing at XYZ company. I'm currently unavailable. Please leave me a message and I'll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you and have a great day." So much better. And when anyone calls you with important information, they'll have no hesitation and immediately they'll know they reached the right person. And you'll also leave a great first impression by having a professional voicemail greeting.

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