It’s been suggested in many a career search article both in print and online, but very few actually do it:
The Professional Email address.
Something as simple as an email address shouldn’t be taken so seriously, right? I will absolutely never agree to that, because something as easy to set up as an email account should be tailored to one’s specific purpose. If that purpose is job searching, then the email address should professionally reflect the person behind the computer. That said, rocafellaCEOyall@email.com is not an acceptable, “professional” email. And though it’s a well liked and fun phrase for all, GitRDone69@email.net does not reflect a job applicant who wants to be taken seriously. These types of email addresses should really be used for personal, more casual correspondence and Macy’s Coupon Code offers rather than a resume submission or job application. A well written cover letter may even be included in the body of the email, but that first impression – the whole, “Git R Done” thing – immediately causes some eyebrow raising.
Those who are on the job market want to ensure they “fit” at their next place of employment, that they can be themselves while on the job. The almighty email address is one of the most popular avenues through which one can express him or herself and establish that personality they’re so eager to project. Truly, this should be saved for a cover letter or a face-to-face interview. And while I agree that what should matter most is the person, the skillset, the resume content, and actual job performance, I also believe that taking just a few minutes to establish an email for job seeking purposes is one of the easiest, smartest moves one can make. As a recruiting firm that receives sometimes hundreds of emails per day, all we really want is a simple email, minus a bunch of numbers and abbreviations, so that we can communicate easily and quickly and of course, take the applicant seriously.
Examples of job-correspondence-friendly emails include those with either first name, last name, or a combination of both before the [at] sign; a combination of name plus one number or year before the [at] sign; or a combo of initials and one number before the [at] sign. Also, fair warning – it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between lowercase L’s and the number 1, depending on the font formatting used within a resume.
And even if you really are the CEO at Rocafella records, I would expect an email from “ShawnCarter40@rocafella.com” as opposed to “JayZ@rocafella.com”.