Earlier this week we asked you what your email prejudices were. We dug through the comments, and now we're back to highlight how you feel about certain email addresses and what they say about the people who use them.
Opinions were passionate in comments on the article, and as of the writing of this followup are approaching nearly 500 strong. From among all the comments several clear opinions emerged on the state of email and selecting an email provider and username.
The username you select is vastly more important than the provider you use. [email protected] is preferred to and more respectable than [email protected]—cutesy, offensive, or unprofessional nicknames are big mistakes.
Domains are important, especially in technology-related fields. An AOL address might be just as serviceable as any other address when it comes to sending and receiving mail but to most people in tech fields it says "Hi. I'm from 1996. What is this internet you speak of?"
As an IT exec, I definitely made judgments against prospective hires based on email addresses (as well as a wide array of other factors). It wasn't uncommon for me to have 100-500 resumes for a single open position, and I didn't care to rely on HR to sort through them, so I did it myself, and I needed some way to get down to a short-list of around 10 people. As such, it was pretty easy to toss a resume because somebody had a goofy email address. And I would certainly raise an eyebrow at a supposed IT tech who had an AOL.com address. - Mike De Lucia
As an IT manager in the tech field, I have to say that I'm a little prejudice when it comes to using a Hotmail or AOL address for business or on a resume. AOL is a more dated personal email address. Hotmail is known as an email for kids, for people who don't care if their mail is thrown out if they don't log in for awhile, and for a spam throwaway address. -
Gankaku
More concerning than people using inappropriate emails handles on their resumes? Businesses that don't have their own domain and personalized email. [email protected] or [email protected] were huge turn offs to readers and many expressed that they would question the professionalism of a company with such an unpolished image and do business elsewhere.
I'm a photographer and also wonder when I see other photographers without a domain name email.
It seems as though they aren't serious about their career if they haven't taken the time to create a website and therefore have a domain name email. - veronykahThe flood of comments wasn't without dissenting opinion by any measure; many commenters weighed in pointing out that it was superficial and judgmental to make snap decisions based on an email address.
I don't understand the prejudice against hotmail. I've had my hotmail address for like 15+ years. Though I've had it so long I was able to choose @msn.com for my address. Fortunately I took it over hotmail.com so maybe people don't look down on me quite so much. When I see a hotmail.com address, I think, 'wow, that person's been using email for a long time.' Read the rest of mrknowitall's comment here..
One astute observation made by several readers was that it's a huge hassle to switch email providers so most people never bother. One reader even noted that the hassle-factor could be a big reason why people get defensive:
This issue comes up every now and then, and it always gets people so riled up. People get defensive because so many e-mail services entrench their users - they can't switch to a new one without a lot of hassle. Read the rest of veblen's comment here.
As we noted in the original post, email addresses have become ubiquitous and because we hand them out so liberally in professional and social situations it is worth taking the time to assess what your email address says about you. Your cute username might have been novel back in high school or college but entering the professional world it's definitely time to retire SexyStud99 in favor of John.R.Smith.
Like your clothing, your hair style, and your manner of speaking, your email address is part of your personal image. Certainly it's a type of prejudice that a hiring manager might look over you because you have an "antiquated" email address or a "stupid" username, but that's not entirely different than a hiring manager being unimpressed that you showed up to a job interview sans a neck tie. Sure it might be unimportant or silly to you and you might say "I wouldn't want to work at a company that uptight anyhow," but it's worth taking into consideration because whether or not a prejudice—big or small!—is fair or reasonable, it is still out there.
Have an email-related story? An awkward moment revolving around an email address? Some insight as someone who handles applications or other hiring processes? Let's hear about it in the comments.