Do Hiring Managers Judge You by Your Email Address?

Got a Bad Email Address?

You’ve worked so hard on your resume to make sure that all of the information on is perfect. You’ve spellchecked it, made sure that none of the phone numbers were transposed, the work-history dates exactly match with the actual records that the human resources department(s) reflect, and your resume format is clean and pleasing to the human eye. But wait — what about that email address you are using? Does that really read as, “rustybucketsgal@…?” And your alternative email reads as, imagoofydriver@…?” Hmmm… We better talk about that for a minute!

Yes, the credentials on your resume are excellent – no argument with those! Your accolades demonstrate your valuable work experiences, your highly-desirable leadership skills, and all of the specialized skillsets that put you through some blood, sweat, and tears to acquire. Shouldn’t these things generate a phone call to you that will invite you to an interview opportunity? The “meat” of the resume is what really matters, isn’t it? Why should you be unfairly judged by the email address you are using when it has no Impact on how well you can meet the job qualifications?

The truth of the matter is this – responsible hiring managers may not-so-much judge you based on your email address; but it does make them question why you are offering it as information they should know about you. If the email address you are offering is one that you’ve used since you were thirteen years old, chances are it isn’t one you should still be using as a person who is seeking better employment.

Let’s review some good and bad ideas about email addresses:

Professionals will have an email address with either their full name or a portion of their full name within the email address. Common-name emails will have digits included to distinguish themselves, or can have a relative word with it. For instance, Tom Jones could be Thomas.Jones.A82@…, Tom.Jones.Andrew@… , Jones.Thom.Atlanta@… , or any variation of that information. All of these emails contain the name within a varying degree. Even T18442Jones@… would be considered professional.

Bad ideas are email addresses that reference your age, gender, political and/or religious affiliations, and illicit drug usage. Of course, this is a very short list. You are bound to come up with other bad examples for inappropriate emails on a resume.

Hiring managers realize that one person can have many different email accounts for different correspondence purposes. Some people have a specific email they give out to only their friends and family members, another account will be given as a generic one they use to pay their bills online, and another email account is used when they engage in business. Depending on your email host, you can have more than five email accounts. This knowledge drives the point home about why a hiring manager can judge you on your email address — especially when you can have several accounts to use, but your resume offers “crazy&nuttybilly@… “

Now it’s time to scroll back up to the title of this blog: “Do Hiring Managers Judge You by Your Email Address?” How are you answering that question? And based on your answer, will you be updating your resume to offer a professional email?

If you need some resume advice, just drop us a note at www.agi.jobs/contact , and we’ll be happy to help you!

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