# Is yahoo / hotmail unprofessional seeming? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330 "2009-02-25T05:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/1 "2009-02-25T05:12:09Z")
Inspired by the pit thread about resumes and job applications, I have to ask: Is it considered less professional to have a yahoo or hotmail address versus either a computer site ([Bob@mac.com](mailto:Bob@mac.com)) or a professional job related email ([Bob@hospital.com](mailto:Bob@hospital.com)). I find that a hospital account changes too often w/ med school, residency, fellowship, locum, etc. and I’ve finally got a reasonable email account name at yahoo ([my.name@yahoo.com](mailto:my.name@yahoo.com)). So…Do I need a new one? or can I use the same one I use for all other things? ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/2 "2009-02-25T05:32:33Z")
As a quick addition to the question, is a gmail address more professional seeming than a yahoo/hotmail address? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/3 "2009-02-25T05:36:11Z")
I read that thread. For a personal email address the free ISP are fine. The issue in that thread was the email address [hotchick@gmail.com](mailto:hotchick@gmail.com). If the address was [first.middle.lastname@gmail.com](mailto:first.middle.lastname@gmail.com) or some such thing there would have been no issue. Almost all the resumes that get forwarded to me by HR for review are some variation of [realname@freeisp.com](mailto:realname@freeisp.com). The rest are realname@college\_I\_went\_to.edu. [SexyMcHottie@freemail.com](mailto:SexyMcHottie@freemail.com) sounds like the email of an irresponsible teenager. The accounts are free. Get one that sends the message that you are a responsible adult. That is the great thing about free email accounts you can easily get a bunch of addresses for various purposes. Your clubbing address, your civil war re-enactment address and your job hunting address. You can even have things forwarded to your main account so you don’t have to log into 15 different accounts every day. If you are running a actual business then you need something like [realanem@businessname.com](mailto:realanem@businessname.com). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/4 "2009-02-25T05:46:40Z")
What **gazpacho** said. I was the one that raised the issue in that pit thread, and the reason I tossed those resumes was because the first part of the email address struck me as very unprofessional. “SexyMcHottie” was actually a sanitized version of several I saw, all of which looked like something I’d expect to find on an adult dating site. I have no problem with people using hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc…as long as it’s reasonably professional…like [firstnamelastname@freeisp.com](mailto:firstnamelastname@freeisp.com) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/5 "2009-02-25T05:51:03Z")
To echo the above, I do make sometimes make judgments based on email addresses, as much as I’d like not to. I always get suspicious if someone claims to be running a business, and then has an email address with any of the free email account providers. For an average individual, it makes no difference to me. I am more trusting of conservative, plain email address (first initial, last name) to funny or descriptive ones. For you, if you have a non-cutesy email address at Yahoo, it’s not a problem. I don’t think Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc., make any difference. They’re all the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/6 "2009-02-25T08:01:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > To echo the above, I do make sometimes make judgments based on email addresses, as much as I’d like not to. I always get suspicious if someone claims to be running a business, and then has an email address with any of the free email account providers. For an average individual, it makes no difference to me. I am more trusting of conservative, plain email address (first initial, last name) to funny or descriptive ones. > > For you, if you have a non-cutesy email address at Yahoo, it’s not a problem. I don’t think Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc., make any difference. They’re all the same to me. Many times I have gone through the jobs section of the papers and seen addresses for applications from gmail, yahoo or hotmail - generally I WON’T apply for those positions - I simply don’t trust them as reputable. I mean - how much does it cost to register a domain name and get a free" email as part of the registration? ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/7 "2009-02-25T11:00:34Z")
Short answer: Yes. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/8 "2009-02-25T12:29:17Z")
If it is an address for an individual on a resume, than I don’t think it is a problem. If it was the email address for a bank and it was [1stfinancial@yahoo.com](mailto:1stfinancial@yahoo.com), then it would seem unprofessional. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/9 "2009-02-25T12:52:22Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Inspired by the pit thread about resumes and job applications, I have to ask: > > Is it considered less professional to have a yahoo or hotmail address versus either a computer site ([Bob@mac.com](mailto:Bob@mac.com)) or a professional job related email ([Bob@hospital.com](mailto:Bob@hospital.com)). I find that a hospital account changes too often w/ med school, residency, fellowship, locum, etc. and I’ve finally got a reasonable email account name at yahoo ([my.name@yahoo.com](mailto:my.name@yahoo.com)). > > So..Do I need a new one? or can I use the same one I use for all other things? As physician I use [mynamemd@gmail.com](mailto:mynamemd@gmail.com) for all personal correspondence; my organizational email for all professional mail. A non-business email tells people you are not corresponding under the umbrella of business for that organization. If you are purporting to be a business yourself, or corresponding under the umbrella of a business, yahoo/hotmail/gmail says “I am a rinky-dink operation without even a website.” There is an obvious advantage to having a permanent email address and I think most people understand that. Such an address looks much more professional if the name is appropriate, and if it looks like some thought went into it: [johnanybodymd@gmail.com](mailto:johnanybodymd@gmail.com) beats [johnnysnazz123@gmail.com](mailto:johnnysnazz123@gmail.com) On my personal rank order, [aol.com](http://aol.com) says you are old and not computer savvy; [yahoo.com](http://yahoo.com) is next on the list of too casual (I can’t see “yahoo” without hearing that ridiculous yodel, and the name still feels like yokels to me), hotmail brings out the anti-microsoft bias (of which there is plenty) and gmail is fine. But obviously that is my personal take only. As an aside, if you have a need to permanently archive business email for an employer that may not be your employer for the long-term, consider setting up an automatic forwarding (assuming they have not disabled this) to a gmail/hotmail account. Go into it periodically and delete the stuff you don’t want. That way when you leave the job, you have your emails archived in a personal archive and if stuff went there you want to keep, you have it. I would be more inclined to just do this instead of checking if it’s OK, since the formal answer is likely to be that it’s not OK. However if there is no policy around it, I am not aware such a strategy is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/10 "2009-02-25T14:03:05Z")
In the IT biz, any resume with an [aol.com](http://aol.com) address gets passed around for a laugh, not for consideration for hiring. As between msn, hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc., there’s no real difference. I agree that professionalsounding@… beats wildandcrazyguy@… every time, but that’s not decisive; just one more minor fact in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/11 "2009-02-25T14:09:31Z")
When I worked in tech support for a e-commerce, I was helping a caller update her web site. Keep in mind this is a professional e-commerce web site and we’re updating the e-mail address her shoppers will use to contact her. The e-mail address she wants added to her site is: [BigBrownSexy69@hotmail.com](mailto:BigBrownSexy69@hotmail.com) I told her she should try to find a more professional sounding e-mail address to use as a contact on her e-commerce site and she was offended. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/12 "2009-02-25T14:09:41Z")
My personal email for resumes and applying for loans etc. is [realname@sbcglobal.net](mailto:realname@sbcglobal.net). My business email is [First.last@business.net](mailto:First.last@business.net). The Doctor has his own email for fun correspondence, and I have a few other identities around the net associated with various other message boards and suchlike. I’ve been creating disposable gmail accounts fo rmany of them. But I would never give my bosses or clients DrFidelius’s email address. He is not applying for the job or doing business with them. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/13 "2009-02-25T14:50:16Z")
I think this is better suited for IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/14 "2009-02-25T15:24:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think this is better suited for IMHO than GQ. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/15 "2009-02-25T15:35:54Z")
Hm. I hadn’t thought about this, which is my bad, considering that I’m currently job hunting. My normal email address is “risha@\.net”. Should I get a gmail account under “[risha.lastname@gmail.com](mailto:risha.lastname@gmail.com)” for use on my resume? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/16 "2009-02-25T15:37:51Z")
My business email address is a gmail address. Nothing funny, just a version of my name. So far, I get plenty of business, and nobody’s had an issue with it. Or if they did, they got over it. I used to use my local ISP-assigned email addy, but their spam filtering is so bad that I ditched it in favor of gmail. I’ve thought about getting a more official sounding address, but so far have been too lazy to. Then again, I don’t have a lot of stuff that I ought to - a business card, a web site promoting my oober skillz and all that. Regardless, I keep myself employed, so \ Maybe I should change it to [SuperSexAHotCodeMonkey@gmail.com](mailto:SuperSexAHotCodeMonkey@gmail.com) and see if I get more or less business. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/17 "2009-02-25T15:42:50Z")
Just as something to toss out, what would you guys think of an address like mine? (I’m not particularly worried about it, as I’ve gotten responses to it–just curious) I’d hate to have to get a second address just for job hunting, because I would never remember to check it regularly. So I’ve been using my jayn\_newell account. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/18 "2009-02-25T15:46:14Z")
I have AOHell, Gmail, Yahoo, … Used to have Wildblue. Now, for you **IT** guys who are laughing. Please point me to the email that works faster with family who are still on AOHell, has less spam, less advertising, etc. I understand the dislike of AOHell in general but the email system??? Please do not use the $$$$ consideration unless you have free, as quick, as spam free, as reputable, with less hacking attempts, etc., other system that is better and can be installed and run by my elderly, non tech., relatives and friends. You know, IM speed on dial-up on crappy rural phone systems. If you just normally mock those that are different, less fortunate than you, well, be honest and admit that so I don’t panic and run out and buy a domain in an effort to be cool like you. Pretty Please… ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/19 "2009-02-25T15:48:17Z")
My email address has been [real\_name@yahoo.com](mailto:real_name@yahoo.com) for nearly fifteen years now. No one has ever seemed to have an issue with it, and I would never take issue with a similar address (for an individual). I WOULD be wary of [businessname@freeisp.com](mailto:businessname@freeisp.com), and I would toss [SexyMcHottie@freeisp.com](mailto:SexyMcHottie@freeisp.com)’s resume in the trash immediately. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/20 "2009-02-25T16:22:26Z")
I think a Yahoo or Hotmail address does make the person/business look Internet-unsavvy, it suggests to me that the person doesn’t know much about computers or Internet. Especially Hotmail, and AOL, even worse! Gmail tends to be where the computer geeks go to set up webmail. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330.md?page=2)