Using Company Email: A No-No
Seven
times this year, I have received job-hunting correspondence from individuals
using their company email accounts. My alarm bell goes off, even if theirs
didn’t. I caution potential clients not to do that. Most responded with (a) “It’s
perfectly okay, the company is aware I am seeking new employment,” or (b) “My immediate
superior said it was okay.”
Neither
argument carries water. First, no
company email is private—especially to email administrators. Second, most
companies have a written policy against using company equipment and services
for private use. Job-hunting qualifies as private use.
Just
because a superior grants you permission, that individual may not have the discretionary
authority to override written company policy. Someone further up the food chain
could conceivably step in and overnight expedite your termination for cause. (I have seen this happen!)
There
is, however, another important reason for not using your company’s email for
job-search purposes. Whenever you opt to use the company’s email, potential
employers routinely jump to their own
conclusions. They view such usage from an entirely different perspective.
From
their viewpoint, you—the job candidate appears to be acting carelessly, or they
think you are probably abusing or violating company policy, or perhaps you are merely
lazy. Take your pick: Which of those images did you want to project?
Best solution: Do not use a company’s email account, and thus
eliminate all the above potential hazards.