When leaving a job, it’s important to manage your digital assets appropriately, including emails that you may want to save from your Outlook account. Here are some practical steps to ensure you save your Outlook emails efficiently and ethically:
1. Check Company Policies
- Before exporting or saving emails, check with your HR department or consult your employee handbook regarding company policies on data ownership and privacy. In many cases, work emails are the property of your employer, and taking them without permission could be a violation of policy or legal agreements.
2. Identify Important Emails
- Go through your Outlook account and identify which emails are important for you to save. These might include personal messages, professional contacts, or work you’ve done that you’re allowed to keep for your portfolio. Ensure you are only saving emails that do not contain sensitive or proprietary company information.
3. Use Outlook Export Function
- For Individual Emails: You can save individual emails by opening the email and choosing
File>Save As. This will allow you to save the email as an HTML file, TXT file, or Outlook message format (.msg). - For Multiple Emails: If you need to save multiple emails, you can use Outlook’s export function. Go to
File>Open & Export>Import/Export. SelectExport to a file, then chooseOutlook Data File (.pst). This will save the emails in a PST file which can be opened by any Outlook account.
4. Save Contacts
- If you want to save Outlook contacts, you can export them separately. Navigate to the People tab in Outlook, select the contacts you want to save, go to
File>Open & Export>Import/Export. ChooseExport to a fileand selectComma Separated Values. This CSV file can be imported into most other email services or contact management systems.
5. Transfer Emails to Personal Email
- If allowed, you might choose to forward important emails to your personal email account. Be mindful to only forward emails that do not contain confidential or proprietary information.
6. Using Third-Party Software
- There are several third-party tools available that can help with exporting emails from Outlook in bulk. Tools like MailStore Home or SysTools Outlook Recovery might be useful, especially if dealing with a large volume of emails.
7. Store Data Securely
- Once you have saved your emails, ensure they are stored securely. If they contain sensitive information, consider using encrypted storage solutions to protect the data.
8. Delete Personal Information from Work Computer
- After you’ve securely saved and backed up your necessary emails, make sure to delete any personal information from your work computer. This includes personal emails, files, and other data stored on the device.
By following these steps, you can safely and ethically save your Outlook emails when leaving a job, ensuring you comply with company policies and protect sensitive information.
