Since I have a business portal (in Portuguese) and a few blogs, I regularly receive requests to help out in researches, career tips and even college homework. I believe this is natural and always try to help whenever I can. Nevertheless, it’s incredible that a considerable portion of people who ask for something are totally clueless regarding the correct behavior in these situations.

Want to be ignored? Just follow these simple tips:

1) Don’t explain who you are or why you want the information.

Many messages begin with a “Hello”, then go straight to the question and end with “Thanks, XXXX”. The author doesn’t mention anything about himself, what he does for a living, why this information is important or what he already found regarding the issue.

Why, then, should I spend my time to answer him? I don’t anything in exchange, but I think I have the right to know who I’m talking to and the type of help I’m offering.

2) Forget all basic cordiality rules

Those that, besides not identifying themselves properly, do not have a minimal dose of cordiality (Hello, thank you, could you please help me, etc.) won’t get much of my attention.

I don’t mean that e-mails should be full of formality and unnecessary chit-chat, but at least show that you respect the time I will dedicate to answer you and that you are grateful for any help received.

3) Show that you are really lazy and want others to do your work for you

Some (mostly college students) seem to have homework to deliver and prefer to ask others for the answers instead of doing their own research. In some extreme cases, they just copy the exact text from their exercise or quiz and ask for the answers.

For example, once I received an e-mail with the following: “Explain 5 characteristics of leadership, with practical examples for their application”. No further explication, just the question! Straight to the recycle bin…

4) Ask for free consulting services

This happened recently, and was what inspired me to write this article. A person sent me an e-mail asking for information regarding supply activities. He explained what his job was and was very polite. The problem is that his “small doubt” started with 8 questions, then asked me to create 4 checklists, followed by 2 definitions, and closed with a question that represented a few hours of consulting just by itself.

One thing is to ask for a tip or basic direction, another is to believe that there is someone on the other side of the line waiting for questions so that he can spend some hours preparing the answers. This shows a considerable lack of respect for my professional activity (and total lack of good sense).

The internet is an excellent channel to develop your networking and seek knowledge. What many do not understand is that most of the social rules of the offline work are still valid online.