Three ways to save yourself from email flub-ups
We've all been there. You spell a professor's name wrong in an email, only to realize it seconds after hitting "send." Even in the age of spell check, you are bound to make the occasional mistake. Here are a few ways that you can save face for those occasional snafus that are bound to occur.
Enable "unsend" features
You might not realize that many email providers allow users to unsend an email for a few seconds after sending. For example, Google Labs has and "Undo Send" feature that all Gmail accounts can be linked to for free. To use the feature, you have to be pretty quick on your feet, though: the feature only allows you to undo any emails within a maximum of 10 seconds of sending.
Spell check yourself
Spell check is a great tool, but it can sometimes make mistakes, so you'd be wise not to rely on it too heavily. Even if it once saved you from a major misspelling once in the past, it should not be your main grammatical tool. If you're ever unsure of a certain spelling (is it complimentary or complementary?), a quick search for the terms will give you a bevy of grammar pages to reference. Of course, you can also pull out your good friend the dictionary for any tricky spellings. This may take some getting used to, but in the end, it will save you from some embarrassing correspondence flubs, which leads us to our next point...
Slow down!
Email, text, chat and so many other correspondence technologies today are done at lightning-fast paces, which can sometimes make it tempting to complete all types of communication in this way. However, there's something to be said for taking time with what you write, especially if the person on the receiving end is a possible employer, internship coordinator or even a friend of a friend with a job lead. Today, emails often provide a first impression, so misspellings and improper grammar can make you come off as sloppy and careless, neither of which would qualify as employable skills. You never know how far an extra few minutes may take you. If you've been working on one particular email for quite some time, USA Today recommends taking a 15 minute breather from the computer and coming back to it with fresh eyes. Sometimes being tired can be just as detrimental as unnecessary speed.
