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I would like to send an email to the Assistant General Manager of a company for the fourth time after a few weeks about its recruitment process. But I get a feeling that I keep nagging him and he is being disturbed.

My question is: can I add this line before sending him another email? 

"I apologize for disturbing your busy schedule, but..."

Because some people hate to read emails starting like this:

'Sorry to bother you, but ...' or  
'I don't mean to be a pain, but ...' or  
'I apologize for disturbing your busy schedule'

Is it okay to start my email like the one above to a GM?

Appulus
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dhinar1991
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    "for the fourth time ... i get a feeling that i keep nagging him" You are. Don't contact him again. It's not an automatic red flag but it's something good candidates don't tend to do. Follow-up advice is here. – Lilienthal Jul 19 '17 at 06:33
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    You could just have a go with, replying with the earlier mails and write 'With respect to earlier mails please look into this..' etc – rshah4u Jul 19 '17 at 07:54
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    Apologizing for repeating something and then repeating it makes the apology kind of empty. – cdkMoose Jul 19 '17 at 13:39

3 Answers3

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I would like to send a mail to Assisstant General Manager of a company for the fourth time after few weeks about a recruitment process

Please don't. What you're doing here is nagging, and it can only affect your chances negatively. They won't "admire your persistence" or anything like that, it'll just be annoying.

If you find yourself having to apologize for writing an email, maybe take another look if that email is really necessary to send and reconsider.

If it's an email you're required to send then you won't have to apologize for sending it, and if you have to apologize for sending it, chances are you shouldn't be sending it.

Because few people hates to read mails starting like this,

I think the hate of people is more concentrated on getting unnecessary emails that take time away from what they ought to be doing instead.

So no, don't add that line. And please reconsider if you have to send that E-Mail at all.

Magisch
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To put the fact that it's a fourth email aside for a second and answer the question

Is it okay to start mail with “I apologize for the additional email, but…”

Even if it were the second email, my general policy is don't apologise needlessly.

It loses its meaning

I want my apology to mean something. If I mess up and have reason to sincerely apologise, then I want that to have weight behind it. Over the past few years, the number of times I've used the phrase "I'm sorry" or "I apologise" in an email is probably < 20 times. I want my boss and coworkers to know that I'm sincere. If I use it all the time in cases like this, it loses its meaning.

It makes you sound like you lack confidence

Have confidence in what you do! If you send an email, be confident in what you say. Have purpose behind your words. Saying I'm sorry is like saying "I'm not sure if sending this email is the right thing to do" (which is exactly what you're asking). Either send it and mean it, or don't send it. Don't admit you don't know what you're doing.

If you do good work and have confidence in yourself, then people will have confidence in you and you'll gain respect from others. How do you lose the respect of others? (1) do bad work or (2) second guess yourself.

It's just extra reading for the recipient

A busy recipient won't want to read through sentences of fluff before getting to the point. Get to the point concisely and keep your emails short.

So while the accepted answer is correct, here's an elaboration on why you shouldn't apologise in this case; save it for when you really are sincerely sorry.

  • Yup. If the first thing I read in a email was "I apologize for disturbing your busy schedule, but blah blah blah" the sender would immediately be on my mental weenie list. That's not a good first impression to make. – Olin Lathrop Jul 19 '17 at 11:01
  • Even worse yet, if an applicant writes this, it can be seen as sort of an insult "I know you're busy and don't want to hear from me for the 4th time since the interview, but let me just...." – Magisch Jul 19 '17 at 12:38
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    @Magisch and "If he's like this now, imagine what he'd be like if I actually hired him..." –  Jul 19 '17 at 12:40
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But I get a feeling that I keep nagging him and he is being disturbed.

If you have the feeling that he's being disturbed, why do you persist in sending another email? It's okay to start your e-mail however you like, but the net effect of every additional e-mail you send is that you are labeling yourself as a nuisance. Let's think this through.

Four e-mails on the same subject, in rapid-fire succession to the same person, shows that you might just believe said person has nothing better to do with herself / himself than attend to your needs. In your case, it's at a distance. If you're demonstrating that kind of behavior now, what perception would the receiver get on how you'd behave if you were hired? If I were the Assistant General Manager, I'd think, "what a jerk!"

I'd recommend backing off and pursuing other opportunities.

Xavier J
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