Why Your E-mail Address Could Be Keeping You From Your Dream Job

As a hiring manager I have seen it all and by all I mean some pretty ‘creative’ e-mail addresses on resumes. For my friends out there that are clueless let me give you a hint; anything personal is not professional.

Let me be specific – I once had a woman apply for a job and her e-mail address ON HER RESUME was Sexkitten69@ whatever her domain was, let me just tell you this is NOT a good email address and promptly landed her in the ‘No’ pile. Anyone that cannot distinguish between what a professional e-mail address is and what an unprofessional e-mail address is a red flag in any hiring manager’s book.

Let me tell you what else qualifies as an unprofessional e-mail address – anything that relates to your personal life. Including hobbies, extracurricular activities, your love for illegal substances (yes I have seen it), sex, political references, relationship status, and anything else that isn’t career related.

So what is a professional e-mail address? Your name, your name and numbers (preferably none that have sexual or negative inuendos), salesguru@email.com if your in sales is acceptable. Joeknowsitall@email.com not so good.

In this current economic downturn and the increasingly difficult job market I cannot preach it enough hiring decisions are made based on EXCLUSION not INCLUSION. Human Resources professionals, Recruiters, Decision makers are looking for a reason NOT to hire you. So don’t start out on the wrong foot with an unprofessional e-mail address and end up in the ‘No” pile from the start.

Here are a few other recommendations to increase your chances of success:
– Create an e-mail account strictly for job search purposes only.
– Use a combination of name or name and number
– Use this e-mail when sending your resumes out to employers, when posting your resume on job boards, and for including on your resume and cover letter.
– By all means use this e-mail address when you post your resume on craigslist, we are paying attention to the email address we’re responding to.
– Fun, funky, and crazy e-mail addresses are for personal use not for a serious job search.

Keep these tips in mind and you won’t have to worry about ending up in a hiring manager’s ‘No’ pile because your resume doesn’t make the grade. For other job search tips and hints visit http://www.greatresumesfast.wordpress.com.

Jessica Holbrook is a former Executive Hiring Manager for Fortune 500 companies and President/CEO of Great Resumes Fast. She creates powerful, customized, and targeted resumes that are guaranteed to get her clients interviews. For a free resume analysis visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com or for a free phone consultation call 1.800.991.5187.