CVs & email addresses

KxMx

Would love other posters opinions on a debate my mother & I are currently having.

I'm not job seeking so it's a moot point for me personally but i'd be interested in other views.

I re-did my CV with the help of a careers advisor based in the Job Centre about 16 months ago.

Recently my mother (who works full time in an office) decided to re-do her CV and used the format provided to me- I emailed her my CV to work from.

Mum then suggested to me to change my email address to firstname.lastname etc as it's more professional.

She told me in her office any CVs with outlandish, unprofessional or dodgy email addresses get chucked away.

My email address is unique but not anything overtly weird IMO (and i'm not for obvious reasons going to disclose it here).

My argument is that name email addresses are boring, don't stand out etc and with my email i've a better chance of catching the eye of a potential employer in a succession of jane.smith & joe.bloggs- although I totally see where she is coming from and obviously her workplace experience is more valuable than my theory...

Happy to see what others think/experienced?

FredG

There's levels of inappropriate I think and it totally depends on the business receiving them. I have a personalised domain for the email I use on my CV.


My manager in an old job received an application that supplied the email alias as sexykate69 or something similar. That raised a few eyebrows and the CV didn't make the interview pile!

engineer_amy

like FredG, I agree that there are different levels of appropriateness for personal email addresses. Especially if you are applying to a professional type organisation, you need to come across as serious and professional. I certainly would not make a decision to hire someone based the 'quirkiness' of their email address, regardless of how memorable it may be.


Fine if its something generic like johnsmithMUFC@....
but
princess.sparkles.mylittlepony@.... comes across as childish
then you have the ones with sexual connotations like the previous sexykate69@...


We receive hundreds of CVs everyday for all types of vacancies, and sometimes do have a giggle at email addresses, we have in the past advised candidates to create a more professional sounding email if they are applying for management type roles.


Why would anyone possibly harm their application chances with a dodgy email when there is such a simple solution


With all the google, Hotmail, ymail and other free accounts around, it is so easy to create a different email, and keep it only for job applications. I have an email account that I use for keeping in contact with friends, facebook and ebay etc, its a dodgy sounding one, and I have a more serious named one for anything else. And smartphones can handle multiple email accounts, so there is no faffing around with log in details all the time.

Fireflyaway

I would tend to agree with your mum. I have received cv's with some really unprofessional email addresses. Badboy91@...... was one that stands out! It just gives an image that the person doesn't care how they come across.

I don't think an unusual email address will make you stand out ( unless for the wrong reasons). Keep it professional. Same if you are on LInkedin. Photos of people with a beer in their hand or dressed in a fancy dress costume or skimpy outfit all send the wrong message!

scooby088

I use my name on cv, anything else i use my personal mail address

Avdic

You could buy a domain with your namefamilyname.com and setup an email with [email]info@ "your domain" .com[/email]

Slinky

Your mother's right on this occasion. 'Boring' sounding email addresses like your own name are the way to go with job applications. Quirky doesn't cut it in the professional world unless it's something really 'arty' you are applying for.

Nobody is going to reject your application because your email address is boring. They could quite easily reject it because your email address makes you look unprofessional. Why take the risk?

Paully232000

I would have to agree with others that an unusual email address is more likely to stand out with recruiters for the wrong reasons.

Five minutes to set yourself up with a free account (hotmail, yahoo, something like that),
firstname.surname@........, or with some numbers added if you are a john smith, and use it for job applications.

Mums are most often right.

kazzah

I HATE HATE HATE e mail addresses that are "quirky"
I work in the voluntary sector and frequently get asked on forums etc by people to "e -mail me that fact/info sheet please"

so I then have to trawl through HUNDREDS of e mail addresses which may or may not be relevant for the one which that person uses - because they don't want to put their address on a forum ( quite correct) but then I have to send them a Pm to ask them for their e mail address because I think i am e mailing Jane Smith - but it turns out her e mail address is "sillybillymumof6kids @ " etc.............in my working life I TRULY wish I could have a rule about everyone ONLY having e mail addresses with their given name and possibly one other identifying feature in it......................

and then DON'T get me started on running a database where the mum is known by one last name, the child by another and the address goes to a third name................................................. i spend half of my working day trying to "find" people..................

OMG - I can't believe how good it feels to get that off my chest............. so OP - I am with your mum on this one ( but I suspect i am a similar age to her!) and would disregard an applicant with a "non professional" name..........................
I'm off now to change my e mail address to; miserablemiddleagedbatleaxe@fedup.com

DKLS

Your own domain is the way to go.

I was ploughing though some CVs this afternoon with a colleague, I was busy scanning one of the more interesting whens one when he shouted out "America online! !!!!!!! this tool has applied for a techie job and has a aol email"

The candidates cv was promptly binned.

ohreally

KxMx wrote: »

My email address is unique

They all are.