A few months later, I applied for a position at a different company.
After the interview, the hiring manager stared at me and smiled.
"You probably don't remember me," he said.
I didn't.
He explained that he had been the HR director who accidentally sent that executive offer to my inbox months earlier.
He never forgot that I could have caused serious problems for the company but chose to do the right thing.
Then he said something I'll never forget.
"Skills can be taught. Character is harder to find."
A week later, I got the job.
The salary doubled my income.
Five years have passed since then, and I still think about that email.
People think integrity has no immediate reward.
Sometimes that's true.
But your reputation is often being built in rooms you don't even know exist.