How to Set Up an Email Account for Job Hunting

When hunting for a job, it is important to use an e-mail address that looks professional. This article discusses various options for you to consider in choosing an address and provider to use during your job hunt.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. There are a large number of drawbacks to using your primary e-mail address during your job hunt. First, the name of your primary account may not reflect the professional image you want to project to potential employers; [e-mail] or [e-mail] may be fun and easy to remember for your friends & family, but including addresses like these on your resume and job applications tells employers that you do not take the time to polish-up small details in your work.

2. Keep the username on your account simple and preferably related to your full name. [e-mail] is easy for employers to remember, hard to mistype, and neutral enough that employers' eyes won't linger on the address and think, "Is this really the person I want?"

3. Avoid punctuation marks if at all possible. Periods are easy to miss when reading an address, and dashes and underscores are easily mistaken. Try combinations of your full names and initials before resorting to numbers to identify your address. Along with johnqsmith, consider names such as:
   jqsmith
   johnquinnsmith
   jquinnsmith
   johnsmith
   jsmith
   smithj
   smithjq

4. Free mail providers are easy to set up and expendable--you can get rid of them at the end of the hunt. If you are an entry-level job hunter, domains such as hotmail.com or gmail.com shouldn't hurt your reputability. However, especially if you are vying for competitive positions or jobs in the IT industries, you may want to associate yourself with a more exclusive domain.

5. If you are a college student or graduate, you probably have access to your university's e-mail network. The names on these accounts are often impersonal (e.g., [e-mail]), but some universities (even large public schools) allow you to register customized addresses to use alongside your student default. Look for e-mail configuration options at your school's website, or call the university technical support desk and ask about customized usernames.

6. If you are currently employed and hunting for something new, using your company e-mail address for job hunting correspondence is unwise. Although being associated with IBM will give you some extra reputability, don't forget that any mail sent through a company address is liable to be monitored; this type of correspondence could lead to termination from your existing position if exposed.

7. If you manage a website, you've probably already considered using an e-mail address at your custom domain name. If you are proud of your site, and if its content is in no way questionable, this is a great choice: You'll impress employers with your experience in designing and maintaining a website, and your e-mail address will stand out from other applicants.

8. If you do NOT have a personal website, you can still get an e-mail address at a custom domain. Many domain names are available for puchase for $10 or less per year, and providers such as Google make it easy to manage e-mail addresses at these domains, rather than requiring you to set up your own e-mail server. You'll have access to any username at your custom domain, and the domain itself will stand out on your application. If this route appeals to you, check out the link to Google Apps in the resources section below--this is one easy and fast way to sign up for a custom domain and e-mail address managed through Google.

Resources

• Google Apps Signup
• Gmail Signup

[jbenedek]

on 9/19/2009 I like your ideas. Even though I've had a few jobs I always just use my hotmail email address on my website. I never thought of getting my own domain to use. Is that something an employer would notice and think better of you for?