With the growing population of people using emails, a 2017 survey conducted by a technology research consultancy, The Radicati Group, showed that an average business worker sent or received 116 emails per day. A normal person clogged with this volume of emails every day will not have enough patience to read every email that comes in his inbox. Therefore, one has to think of a way on how to make his email stand out among the rest. A good email leaves a good and lasting impression about the sender, his company, and the organization he represents. Mastery of important points in writing a good email influences a person’s career path. Here’s a list of top ten email mistakes that can negatively affect a person’s career and therefore must be avoided.

Responding when you are heaved with anger

It is often inevitable that one customer sends us an upsetting remark which may easily anger us. Our immediate reaction tends to be firing off an angry response to an angry email. However, this kind of disposition causes us to say something that we will regret sooner or later. When one is heaved with anger, the best remedy is to sit first and calm down. This allows us to think through the situation first and is able to handle the situation reasonably.

Making immature, goofy address

The first thing that a person sees when an email is received is to look from whom the message came from. Email addresses that are hard to read such as fantasticbaby20@gmail.com, prettyBoy12@yahoo.com, or wantedGurlfriend@yahoo.com make a hiring manager or a customer question the sender’s credibility. We tend to trust people who seem professional and having these immature email addresses causes our emails ending up in trash bins.

Forgetting a subject line in the email or failing to change it to match the “thread.”

Writing a subject line in an email gives the receiver an idea about the content of the said email and allows him to either neglect it first or open it immediately.

Failing to personalize the message

Picking appropriate greetings at the start of the message –either formal or informal depends on your type of relationship with the receiver. A casual and friendly salutation is appropriate for the person you know for quite long but more formal ones must be used for those you are contacting for the first time. What is important is you must not skip using salutations.

Including inappropriate content such as off-color jokes, discrimination, harassment and other statements that may damage someone’s reputation.

Sending discriminatory emails and harassing a colleague can negatively impact the career of the employee.  The victim of the discriminatory joke or harassment can easily bring the matter before the employer showing the email as his/her evidence.  If a subject matter of the email is sensitive, employees are advised to be very cautious about them.   

Skipping grammar check

Even though email communications are not face-to-face, sentences in an email must still be grammatically correct. Again, first impression matters and sending an email with grammar mistakes shows one’s unprofessionalism.

Thinking no one aside from the receiver will ever see the email you sent

Although email is a fast and reliable way of communication, very important messages must still be said personally. Emails are saved permanently and with the growing numbers of hackers worldwide, it is still unsafe to use this as a tool of sending highly-confidential files.

Reckless copying and forwarding of emails

Copy and forward important emails only when authorized by the creator. Copyright infringement is subject to law and must be avoided at all cost. Always ask for the author’s permission before you forward or copy a particular email.

Completing the “To” line first

One has to leave the ‘To’ line blank until you compose a well-written message. Even if you send corrected email right after that accidentally-sent-one, the receiver will still be able to read that first one. This leaves the receiver an impression that you have a reckless personality.

Expecting an immediate response

It must be kept in mind that our email is not the single email found in somebody’s inbox. We must give the recipient to think through our message. Avoid sending another message once we did not hear back from them. Learn to wait.

Sending emails maybe seem like a simple task.   However, so many individuals have been fired from job because of reckless drafting and sending of emails.  Following our tips can help maintain your image as an employee who upholds strict standards of professionalism.  Email as a modern tool for communication must be carefully written to keep your reputation undamaged.