When job searching, you want everything you present to a potential employer to be perfect. Don’t let something as minor as your email address blow your chances at an attractive opportunity.
How can that happen?
Your email address can speak volumes. It can date you, reveal too much information, portray you as unprofessional, or even show a lack of good judgment.
It’s one of the first things recruiters notice because it’s in your contact information heading your job search materials, such as resumes, cover letters, deal sheets, business plans, and other correspondence. You want your email address to bolster your image as a professional at the top of your game.
Avoid email addresses that are:
- Dated
Use an email provider that’s cutting edge and up to date. Using an older provider such as AOL or Hotmail could give the impression that you’re Old School, behind the times, or just plain old. Most professionals use free Gmail email accounts these days. Also avoid using an email address that includes your birth or graduation year or another reference to age such as JoeyfromtheSixties@xyz.com as it could open the door for age discrimination.
On the other hand, don’t use your old University email address. You can’t stay young forever! Haven’t you moved on and established yourself as a professional since graduation? Furthermore, universities typically don’t let you keep your email address forever and you don’t want an outdated email address on your job search materials.
- Too revealing
References to ethnicity, religion, race, or sexual orientation could give a potential employer reason to discriminate against you. Similarly, avoid any political references, especially in these divided times. It might prevent you from getting a job if the hiring manager or recruiter has opposing views. Even if they happen to agree with you, it’s best to keep politics out of your professional life (unless, of course, you’re looking for a job in politics).
- Shared with others
Your job search email address should not be shared with a spouse or family members such as Alex&Amada4ever@xyz.com or SmithFamily@xyz.com. Nor should it include the names of children or pets, such as Jennysdad@xyz.com or poodlemom@xyz.com. Your marital and family status is protected information and you shouldn’t voluntarily reveal it to potential employers. At worst, it may signal to an employer that you’re too wrapped up in your family or pets to make your job a priority.
- Cutesy
Don’t give the impression that you lack professionalism or business judgment by using email addresses that are cute or whimsical. Nothing dispels the image of a crackerjack lawyer faster than contact information which lists something like earthtojoey@xyz.com or sexysuzie@xyz.com. You can be as imaginative as you want with your personal email correspondence, but choose something benign for business and job search purposes.
Likewise, don’t try to stand out with hidden job search messages like pleasehireme@xyz.com or Im_your_next_employee@xyz.com. That can come across as desperate.
Also avoid personal nicknames which might be fun for friends and family but don’t belong in the professional arena like partyanimal@xyz.com or cuddlebear@xyz.com. It’s also best to avoid references to non-professional hobbies or interests such as crazycatlady@xyz.com or hockylover@xyz.com which are irrelevant in most workplaces.
- Vulgar or Offensive
It should be obvious that negative, vulgar, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive email addresses are absolutely verboten! Similarly, any references to drug or alcohol use or promiscuity could offend a potential hiring manager.
- Out of the area
Avoid including your city or state in your email address. During the pandemic, with the rise of remote working, some candidates eliminated their physical addresses from resumes completely, considering them irrelevant. As the legal and business world are returning to the office, however, we’re seeing fewer remote or even hybrid opportunities. Therefore, your resume could be rejected immediately simply because your current city doesn’t match the job location. If you’re not within easy commuting distance to the office, make it clear on your resume that you’re willing to relocate.
Avoid your current work email address
Don’t use your current work email address! You don’t want your current employer to see that you’re exploring new opportunities while you’re still on their payroll. They have every right to monitor any email on their accounts, and such a discovery could land you in hot water or cost you your job. Plus, once you leave that employer, you’ll no longer have access to the email account.
Instead, use a personal email address or, better yet, one that you’ve created especially for job search purposes. This separates your professional correspondence from your personal emails and highlights any messages related to your search. That way, you won’t miss any important messages from potential employers and respond immediately to any requests for further information or arrange an interview.
Choosing a professional email address
The recommended professional email address format is some version of your name. [Note: including “Esq.” or “JD” seems pretentious and is unnecessary. That information should be covered in the body of your resume.] Unfortunately, however, with several billion people using email, it may make it difficult to get the email address of your choice. But whichever variation you choose, follow these rules:
- Keep it short and simple, easy to spell and recall. If you have a long name, use a shorter version.
- Make it pronounceable. You may, on occasion, need to read your email address out loud, either on the phone or in person.
- Avoid accent marks, diacritics, and punctuation, even if the proper spelling of your full name includes them.
- You can use an underscore to separate your first and last names, although a period is more commonly used these days.
- It’s best to avoid numeric characters in your professional email address, but use them if the situation demands it.
Here’s to creating the perfect email address, and good luck on your job search!
