Don’t Make These 9 Mistakes at the Office — Unless You Want Your Co-Workers to Think Less of You

Mistake #1: Emailing the wrong person

There’s the never-ending thread where you’re trying to find a time that fits everyone’s schedule, the one where your boss is giving you revisions on your latest project, and of course, the maybe-not-appropriate exchange with a co-worker over last night’s primetime show. Most people send dozens (upon dozens) of emails a day, and while you should always double-check your grammar (and avoid these other annoying email habits), career expert for Monster.com, Vicki Salemi says you should also give a second glance to that “to” field. “Particularly when there’s confidential information, it’s a no-no to send it to the wrong person. We’re in such a rush these days, trying to do more in less time, and while technology of course expedites that, sometimes it thwarts our efforts,” she says. Though the best thing you can do to prevent an email mix-up is to slow down and proofread, if you happen to send the wrong email to the wrong person, Salemi says acknowledgement is both professional and essential. She suggests saying something like, “My apologies, this was intended for somebody else.” Don’t forget to save the error, just in case it comes back to you too.