Let’s say your name is John Smith. You decide to sign up for a run-of-the-mill email account. During the registration process, you make a typo when entering the desired email address. So instead of getting johnsmith@example.com, you end up with jhonsmith@example.com. Then, you proceed to use this new email account to correspond with friends, family and clients.

What does this behavior tell others about you? Well, it’s pretty clear that:

– You’re too careless to double-check things when you initially type them in.

– You can’t be bothered to fix your mistakes after the fact.

– You don’t care about the impact that these signals may have on the way others perceive you.

Of course, the type of person who spells their own name wrong probably isn’t going to be very receptive to tips and advice about doing things more diligently. But for everyone else, this is a reminder that careless behavior can be manifest in seemingly small ways. So the next time you get an email from a prospective vendor or other would-be business associate who can’t manage to get their own email address straight, remember that they’re likely to be just as careless and inept when performing work for you. Learn to spot this red flag early on, and you can focus your efforts on more competent and trustworthy alternatives.