February 16, 2006 8:41 AM

Caution: e-mail can be hazardous to your career
Posted by Douglas Eisenhartat 8:41 AM

A cautionary tale from today's Globe tells of a testy e-mail exchange between a job candidate and a prospective employer that spun out of control and wound up on the Internet, and now on the front page of the newspaper.

Here's what transpired:

Korman was miffed that Abdala notified him by e-mail this month that, after tentatively agreeing to work at his law firm, she changed her mind. Her reason: "The pay you are offering would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living."

In his e-mail reply, Korman told Abdala that her decision not to have told him in person "smacks of immaturity and is quite unprofessional," and noted that in anticipation of her arrival, he had ordered stationery and business cards for her, reformatted a computer, and set up an e-mail account. Nevertheless, he wrote, "I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."

Her curt retort: "A real lawyer would have put the contract into writing and not exercised any such reliance until he did so."

There's more, but for our purposes the moral of the story is this: think twice before typing - or sending - that emotion-packed e-mail. We've all been there. Better to take a deep breath, let it pass, and keep those thoughts to yourself (or rephrase them more diplomatically). Once sent they are out of your hands and may wind up somewhere - and everywhere - you did not intend.

Moral of the story #2: needless to say, since this happens to be a recruitment story, one should never leave a trail of ill will behind after a job interview or hiring situation. While both sides' behavior would seem to be at fault here, as the job seeker you should be sure to thank the parties involved and leave on good terms and in good taste. Your reputation is the single most important asset you have, and once compromised, it is difficult to impossible to repair.