Photo courtesy Flickr user bengreyEmail is a part of our corporate DNA, but even so, people sometime...

1. 5 career-destroying email blunders - CBS News
Photo courtesy Flickr user bengrey
Email is a part of our corporate DNA, but even so, people sometimes behave like they are sending
email for the first time. And these errors can have a significant impact on the way they're perceived
in the office. Here are the 5 biggest "email don'ts."
Never resolve an email alias in a message about that individual. Here is the scenario: You're writing
a scathing email about Emily to your manager or a co-worker. You're curious who Emily's manager
is, so you enter her name in the CC field to check out her details in Outlook. Unfortunately, you
forget to erase her before sending -- and congratulations... you've just sent the damaging email to
her. Don't laugh: I've been the recipient of such a mail, and sent one just like it myself as well.
Don't BCC without good reason. You probably know that when you enter an addressee in the BCC
field of an e-mail, that person gets the message, but everyone in the To and CC lines is unaware.
Hence, the "blind" in BCC. The problems start when you use the BCC field as a way to mask
recipients so they can see messages that it's not polite or ethical to share. For example: BCC'ing
someone on a disciplinary e-mail. Just imagine what happens if the BCC recipient accidentally clicks
Reply All or forwards the message to someone else. The charade is over, and the damage could be
irreparable.

2. Don't send an emotional mail before counting to 100.
Something upsetting happens, so you fire off an acidic
email that lets a co-worker know exactly what you think
of him. Or perhaps not so damaging, you just reply to
an email with a sarcastic or condescending tone. Before
you click Send, ask yourself what you hope to achieve --
and will it have the desired impact? Waiting a half hour
and re-reading the message might make you realize
there's no reason to send it -- delete the message and
be the better man or woman.
Spell check, always. Are you that person who sends
email riddled with typos? It looks unprofessional, and
contributes to people thinking of you as sloppy and
impulsive.
Don't use smug signature blurbs. Signatures that say
things like "sent from my iPhone" might seem
innocuous, but they can have unintended
consequences. You might be trying to say, "I'm writing this on the go, so the message will be short
and might have a few typos in it," but the signature can come off as snobbish, and possibly even
poison relationships with partners or clients who might have adversarial relationships with your
phone manufacturer.
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