Job seeking involves hard work and a smart approach. Whether it’s face to face or online, it‘s extremely important to present yourself professionally in both situations. But, is it really important to make sure you’ve literally dotted all your “i’s” and crossed your “t’s” when you are sending a quick e-mail message to a potential employer?

You bet. It’s likely your parents drilled it in your head to be nice and have good manners … let’s apply the same advice to your job seeking.

Etiquette, in plain and simple English, means good manners. Similarly, “netiquette” is applying proper manners when communicating online. All job seekers should be knowledgeable with basic netiquette in order to make a positive impression during the job hunting process. If you do not show proper netiquette, you may never get the chance to sell yourself in an interview. Using poor online communication may also reverse the positive impacts of a strong interview.

More and more, job seeking correspondence occurs online. Just because e-mail is a quick and efficient method of communication does not excuse poor grammar, typographical errors and mistakes in your writing. While short, text-like communications are great for friends and Facebook, it does not belong in an e-mail to a potential employer.

With the handy tools of spell-checking or a dictionary — yes, I said it, dictionary — your e-mails should not contain any spelling errors. Still, I know I can easily misspell words I already know how to spell, so don’t rely solely on spell-check. It does not catch errors on the usage of words such as “there” and “their” or “to”, “too” and “two”.

It’s a good idea to have a friend, family member or professional proofread it for errors, just as you would with a paper or resume. Proofreading sounds like a big deal for such a quick message, right? It’s a big deal if a typo prevents you from getting a job you really want. Technology can enhance your job-search process, but it can also quickly ruin it.

In most cases, such errors are a result of carelessness and will stand out to recruiters during the selection process. Don’t allow silly spelling and grammar mistakes to ruin your chances at finding a job.

Face to face interaction with recruiters includes a mix of body language, words and non-verbal communication. You can use all of those components to display good manners. However, when networking and applying for jobs online, you really only have your words.

Are the words you are using, or using incorrectly, preventing you from getting an interview? Apply the same professional job seeking techniques online as you would in person. Think about advice you may have received from your grandma: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” The same applies to online communication — if you can’t write something correctly, don’t write it at all.

I know you are human and mistakes happen. Just do your best and make every effort by paying close attention to details. Read employer e-mails thoroughly before responding, and proofread your electronic communication thoroughly before clicking the send button. What might be OK for texting a friend will definitely not work for a potential employer. An employer does not want to see, “OMG, am so xcited bout ur job opp. hope to cu soon.”

If you are willing to rush through an e-mail to a potential employer, what does that tell the employer about how you would handle your daily work? Practice professional netiquette by remembering your audience and the message you want to send.

Tammy Stegman is a Career Coordinator in the College of Business, Raisbeck Career Services Center at Iowa State University.

For more information about etiquette in job seeking, please contact your specific career services office at Iowa State. A list of each career services office can be found here.