Communications Tip of the Month

Now that discerners have many ways to contact a vocation director, what is the best way to respond? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but a few things have emerged as "best practices."

Have a system in place to respond

This helps ensure that no inquiry goes unanswered. Surprisingly, discerners still report sometimes not hearing back once they've worked up the nerve to contact a vocation director. If you prefer to make a personal response by e-mail but know you will be delayed, set up an "auto-response" so that inquirers get a message from you telling them when you'll be able to contact them personally. In gmail, for instance, this can be done by clicking on the upper right sprocket icon for "settings" and scrolling down to "vacation responder."

Don't delay your response

People have become accustomed to fast responses to e-mails and texts. Try to answer within 72 hours.

Respond in the same form in which you were contacted

This applies unless, of course, the person asks you to respond differently. In other words, a phone call prompts a phone call, a text receives a text, etc.

Learn more about how other vocation directors handle inquiries in this HORIZON article. (This link will take you to the article once you've logged in.)