Sometime in January, one of my friends who recently retired called me up to help her daughter with a job. I told her my office was not employing but I could help share her Resume with my colleagues.
The resume came but I didn’t open it because I assume it’s a spam. She called me to follow up and I told her I didn’t receive it. She sent again using same address and called me to tell me the address: sexysteel@whatever.com
Ha! I asked her why anyone would take her seriously with this kind of email. It was even on her resume! So I told her to do the proper thing, get a proper email address and send. That was the end, she did not get back to me till date, this is a lady who has been looking for employment for 3 years.
So in July, a young lady approached me via dm on Instagram and told me she has been home for 4years doing nothing and need help. I told her to come and meet me in my office with her resume. The email was drippingdoll@godknowswhat.com. I was a bit upset and had to talk to her about her resume, she actually has a decent email, she just felt comfortable with this one. So she replaced the address and we got on talking.
Just as you know that your social media presence reflects who you are and every employee is particular about who they are hiring, I asked for her social media handles. When I opened the Instagram and scrolled for about a minute, my mind was made up that there’s no way we could work together. What I found out would be discussed at another time but I did advise her before she left.
You see, your email address is a determinant whether your email should be opened or not. It is the first impression you make as you apply for your job.
If you opened your email address many years ago, especially those with .co.uk, Hotmail, aol etc please create a new one, else you make your employer raise an eyebrow at how rustic you are.
If you are searching for a job or business, please follow this advice , it will help you.
- Your email should be professional and easy to remember and create awareness.
- It should include your name, preferably first name and last name like lolasmith@gmail.com
- It should be a personal email address, not one shared with a spouse or family not yinkaandben@yah.com
- Your email address must not be flirtatious, suggestive, generic, silly, or funny. Like sexy, cute, dude, handsome, frizzy etc
- Try not to use numbers or underscores.
In particular, avoid including the year of your birth. It’s very easyto guess the probable age of tomiwa79@whatever.com. - If you cannot obtain your email at a “leading” email service such as Gmail, try your name at another email service so you can use your first name and last name.
You should endeavor to make it easy for prospective employers to find “‘you” in their inboxes. Remember your email is the first establishment of your personal brand.
Omolola Oladimeji.