As another class of newly minted college graduates prepares to enter the workforce, they will be faced with navigating what is and is not appropriate when it comes to digital etiquette in the workplace. It may seem trivial, but knowing when it’s OK to use your smartphone at work can make the difference between getting a promotion and being passed over. For jobseekers, it can influence which candidate gets the job and which ends up in the “no” pile.

1. Workplace Digital Etiquette 101
Summary: As another class of newly minted college graduates prepares to enter Kara Reinsel, Senior Strategist
the workforce, they will be faced with navigating what is and is not appropriate Digital Integration and Innovation
when it comes to digital etiquette in the workplace. It may seem trivial, but
knowing when it’s OK to use your smartphone at work can make the difference Digital marketer and online business
between getting a promotion and being passed over. For jobseekers, it can strategist. DMV local. Art, food and
influence which candidate gets the job and which ends up in the “no” pile. fashion enthusiast.
Key Information:
As you become a part of the working world, you will be faced with a set of professional etiquette dilemmas you may not have
been well prepared for (through no fault of your own). Colleges and universities do an excellent job educating students in a
particular field of study. However, they fall short when it comes to teaching essential life skills such as “Should I friend my boss
on Facebook?” Without this information, you could unwittingly fall into digital etiquette traps while interviewing for a job or
after you’ve started a new position.
According to a CareerBuilder survey, 71% of hiring managers said the biggest mistake job candidates make during an interview is
1
answering a cell phone or texting during the interview. Many hiring managers said they would end the interview immediately if
this happened to them. So with that in mind, turn off your cell phone while on a job interview. That is, unless you don’t want to
be hired, in which case using your cell phone during an interview is a surefire way to ensure that you don’t get the offer.
After the interview, be sure to send a thank-you note. Eighty-nine percent of hiring managers say it’s fine to email a thank-you
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note and, in fact, half of them prefer it to be an email. If you don’t send a thank-you note, you are putting yourself at risk—22%
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of hiring managers said they are less likely to hire someone if the candidate doesn’t send a thank-you note.
When it comes to digital etiquette in the workplace, its better to err on the conservative side, at least initially. Leave your cell
phone at your desk. It’s unnecessary to bring it to meetings, and if you use it you run the risk of being perceived as inattentive, or
worse, an annoying Millennial. Resist the urge to friend all of your new coworkers on Facebook. Under no circumstances is it OK
to bash your company or coworkers in your Facebook status or on your Twitter account, unless you want to get fired. Think twice
before making your employer-provided laptop your de facto personal computer. Anything stored on the laptop technically
belongs to your employer, not you. Avoid using your work email as your personal email account. Again, your company owns all of
the data—contacts, emails from your mom, shipping confirmations from Zappos, etc.—within the email account. And eventually
you’ll switch jobs: save yourself the headache and use your work email only for work. Finally, refrain from checking your personal
email during meetings.
Implications and Action Items:
Common sense can help you avoid the majority of digital etiquette challenges:
• When in doubt, turn off your cell phone.
• Get to know your coworkers first as professionals, not as automatic (online and off-line) BFFs.
• Don’t use social media as a channel to share your opinions of your employer, your job or your colleagues.
1
CareerBuilder.com, “Employers Reveal Outrageous and Common Mistakes Candidates Made in Job Interviews,” January 12, 2011
2
CareerBuilder.com, “More Than One-in-Five Hiring Managers Say They Are Less Likely to Hire a Candidate Who Didn’t
Send a Thank-You Note,” April 14, 2011
3
Ibid
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2. About RTCRM
RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM) is a full-service direct marketing and relationship marketing agency based in
Washington, D.C., in the heart of Georgetown, with an additional office in New York. RTCRM boasts more than 40
years’ worth of innovative, targeted solutions that grow its clients’ brands and help them forge lasting, valuable
relationships with their customers. What distinguishes RTCRM is its unique ability to analyze data and research on
both a rational and emotional level. RTCRM’s clients include major brands in the telecom, technology,
pharmaceutical, and other business sectors such as AARP, BlackRock, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk.
To learn more about RTCRM, please visit www.rtcrm.com or follow the Twitter feed @rtcrm.
About the Digital Integration and Innovation Team
The RTCRM Digital Integration and Innovation team is tasked with keeping track and making sense of the ever-
changing digital world. It’s our job to understand the nuances of how and why different types of people use
technology and what that tells us about them. More importantly, it’s our job to help our clients apply this knowledge
to better communicate with their customers. We help clients translate business goals into marketing campaigns that
build relationships with customers. In the 21st century, understanding how and why someone uses technology is as
important as understanding where they live, what gender they are, and how old they are. That’s where we come in.
From ensuring that technographics are considered in the research phase, to tactical plans that align digital, print and
broadcast tactics, we work with clients and internal partners to make sure it all works.
It’s not about what’s cool. It’s about what’s smart.
Treffpunkt, Digital Integration and Innovation Team Blog: http://rtctreffpunkt.blogspot.com
Copyright RTCRM www.rtcrm.com/blog/perspectives2011 ~8~