Is It OK to Use Numbers in My Job Search E-mail Address?

We’ve recently received numerous questions via Twitter and LinkedIn and in an effort to address those questions will be answering some of the most common questions in weekly blog posts such as this week’s question:

Q: What’s your opinion of using numbers in your e-mail address to differentiate yourself as a job seeker?

A: This is a great question that doesn’t necessarily come with a simple answer; so let’s take a closer look at creating e-mails for your job search first.

As you probably know, using some variation of your name is great when creating an e-mail address as a job seeker.  But if you have a common name, it’s probably been taken by another e-mail account user.

You could use this opportunity to differentiate yourself as a job seeker by adding numbers like your year of birth or the current calendar year (e.g., JaneLeeDoe2011@emailaccount.com).  But try not to make the address so complicated that a person couldn’t remember it if they had to type it by hand at a later date (e.g., JaneLeeDoe964837629@emailaccount.com).

The idea is to keep your e-mail address as simple and professional as possible while ensuring that you’re able to stand out from others who will apply for the same positions.  If you can get away with creating an e-mail account with just your name, this is the easiest way to go.  But if you choose to add numbers, it’s good to keep them as simple and memorable as possible.

As a side note, try not to use numbers or number sequences that may have unprofessional correlations. For example, the number combination 69, 666, or 777 all tend to evoke certain images, references, or thoughts to a person; and you always want to be conscious of the “image” you’re portraying during a job search.

An exceptional resume authority, Jessica Hernandez and her team of credentialed writers partner with professional- and executive-level candidates to open doors to jobs at prestigious corporations, achieving over a 99% interview-winning success rate.  For examples of branded resumes and Great Resumes Fast’s blog on resume writing tips, visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com.