# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Dryfreeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dryfreeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryfreeze)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/21 "2009-02-25T17:11:29Z")
I work in the legal department of a large corporation, and I occasionaly work with outsiders that have @aol.com or @gmail.com addresses and are supposed to be professional lawyers with their own practice. . . Generally, I have a good chuckle about this as do some of the other people I work with. A lawyer using AOL or Gmail for his official law firm correspondence . . hmm. . .heh. ---
**Author:** ![cordylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@cordylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cordylus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/22 "2009-02-25T17:43:51Z")
While reading the resume thread I became curious about my own address. I’ve used the same one for 14 years without a second thought but that thread made me wonder. What is the opinion of an unusual or inexplicable address? Mine is cordylus@\ and I wonder if its being looked on as unprofessional. I have my business address which is first.last@company but I occasionally give out my personal address. Until reading this thread I would have used my personal address during a job search without hesitation. Cordylus is a genus of lizards which I suppose might seem weird to some folks. I got in the habit of using it as a UID because in fifteen years its only been taken on a site I was registering for once. I’ve always been of the opinion that as long as the user name isn’t inappropriate or in poor taste it doesn’t really matter. I can see that the level of personal detail could be a problem and people will make inferences from the UID chosen. Is it really common to pitch anything that isn’t first.last@whatever? How would you react to a resume sent from the mail server of the current employer? ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/23 "2009-02-25T19:04:57Z")
> [@Dryfreeze](#): > > I work in the legal department of a large corporation, and I occasionaly work with outsiders that have @aol.com or @gmail.com addresses and are supposed to be professional lawyers with their own practice. . . > > Generally, I have a good chuckle about this as do some of the other people I work with. A lawyer using AOL or Gmail for his official law firm correspondence . . hmm. . .heh. If it’s a sole proprietorship, why not? Setting up your own domain with your own email address can be a hassle. Gmail is easy. And there might be other reasons. I already mentioned crappy spam filtering. Spam filtering alone is a good enough reason to use gmail. Also, gmail is common enough that corporate email servers usually let it through. I have another email address that one of the companies I contract with gave me. It’s something like [Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com](mailto:Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com). SoftwareSlinger’s primary client - one I do work for just about every day - bans [Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com](mailto:Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com) from their corporate email servers about three times a year. I have no clue why. All I know is that all of a sudden, emails sent to [Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com](mailto:Athena@SoftwareSlingers.com) from BigClient never get to me. I start bitching, it takes between 4 & 6 weeks to clear up, it works for two months, then they ban me again. My gmail account, on the other hand, always works. So I gave up. If they want to reach me, they have to use my gmail account. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/24 "2009-02-25T19:19:11Z")
> [@cordylus](#): > > How would you react to a resume sent from the mail server of the current employer? Me personally? I don’t see anything horribly wrong with this choice, but you are giving up some of your right to privacy. Also, it strikes me that this may be percieved as a willingness to look for work on company time and using company resources–even if the underlying e-mail system is web-based and freely accessible from home. Of coure, someone else might see that company-based e-mail as being evidence that you really do work for company X and percieve it as more professional than gmail and the like. Really, though, I think the number of resumes rejected for reasons of which e-mail address was used/listed is going to be pretty small–once you exclude the truly stupendously unprofessional. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/25 "2009-02-25T19:23:47Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > 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! I agree. I’m not a hiring manager or anything, but whenever I do see a business with @AOL or something like that, it bugs me. If they’re so behind the time with what is now basic communication, what else are they going to be behind on. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/26 "2009-02-25T22:31:28Z")
For your personal resume and whatnot, you should use a free, professional looking email account. ie [msmith@gmail.com](mailto:msmith@gmail.com) NOT [sexysmith@yahoo.com](mailto:sexysmith@yahoo.com) Not my real email by the way. You probably shouldn’t use your place of employment for jobhunting (or any personal email for that matter). If you are running a business, you should probably get something that looks professional. [msmith@msmithconsulting.com](mailto:msmith@msmithconsulting.com) or whatever. Just so you don’t look like a guy working out of his basement. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/27 "2009-02-25T22:41:46Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > 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. How so, in regards to someone applying for a job giving an @yahoo or @hotmail email address as their contact info? And how are those any worse than @gmail? I can see it looking unprofessional for a business to be using a free account as their primary contact address, but I don’t see how using an Internet-based email service makes an applicant look less Internet savvy. ---
**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, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/28 "2009-02-25T22:48:33Z")
Basically, yahoo and hotmail, because of their attached IM clients, have a high number of kids signing up for them, so they’re seen as immature. Gmail, on the other hand, is different. When it was first released, it was invite-only, so it had some prestige. Even now, it is a much better service than the other free ones, so the assumption is, if a tech-savvy person is using free email, they’ll use gmail. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/29 "2009-02-25T23:04:44Z")
Hum, I can see how that makes sense. I never use the IM features my Hotmail account (opened in college and going strong for almost 10 years) so I guess I didn’t realize there might be that stigma. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/30 "2009-02-26T00:39:56Z")
How about generic but non-offensive email addresses? Say ‘kittycat@whatever’ I’m amazed by how many businesses do use free email addresses (I see _a lot_ of them. Admittedly, these are not people who are tech-savvy at all.) ---
**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 26, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/31 "2009-02-26T04:23:19Z")
Ok, this is all good stuff. I’m happy enough to gradually switch over to a gmail account for worky stuff. Is there yet another option? What would be the most professional looking email address that \*\*\*one could continue to use while changing from job to job, company to company. \*\*\*Is there a company that makes email addresses like [my.name@professionalsoundingemailaddress.com](mailto:my.name@professionalsoundingemailaddress.com)? ---
**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 26, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/32 "2009-02-26T04:26:52Z")
Ok I went to gmail and all the professional sounding versions of my name are unavailable except for stuff like [reverenddoctorprofessormyname@gmail.com](mailto:reverenddoctorprofessormyname@gmail.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 26, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/33 "2009-02-26T05:00:05Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > How about generic but non-offensive email addresses? Say ‘kittycat@whatever’ Kittycat? Not for any professional use. ---
**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 26, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/34 "2009-02-26T05:06:07Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Ok > I went to gmail and all the professional sounding versions of my name are unavailable except for stuff like [reverenddoctorprofessormyname@gmail.com](mailto:reverenddoctorprofessormyname@gmail.com) Sounds like you have a very common name. Have you tried using initials? (FirstNameMiddleInitialLastName, FirstInitialMiddleInitialLastName, etc) Year of birth (four-digit and two-digit)? FirstNamePeriodLastName? FirstInitialPeriodLastName, etc? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/35 "2009-02-26T05:09:38Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > Basically, yahoo and hotmail, because of their attached IM clients, have a high number of kids signing up for them, so they’re seen as immature. > > Gmail, on the other hand, is different. When it was first released, it was invite-only, so it had some prestige. Even now, it is a much better service than the other free ones, so the assumption is, if a tech-savvy person is using free email, they’ll use gmail. I do think that the simpler the yahoo or hotmail address, the more professional it looks, since if I see someone has [Lastname@yahoo.com](mailto:Lastname@yahoo.com), I know they’ve probably had it for many, many years, since all the simple ones are long gone. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/36 "2009-02-26T12:14:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Kittycat? Not for any professional use. Kittycat makes me think the user must have been about eleven when she picked it–in this day and age it’s so easy to get another free e-mail address, that failing to do so makes one not look so internet-savvy. Not that internet-savviness is the end–all and be–all, but . . . If you are sending someone a resume and coverletter by e-mail, you are presumably including your real first name, real last name, at least one real phone number, and a real mailing address. What exactly are you gaining by not using your name(s) in your e-mail address? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/37 "2009-02-26T12:27:31Z")
By themselves, no. In general, an adress in the form [firstname.lastname@freeisp.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@freeisp.com), [initial.lastname@freeisp.com](mailto:initial.lastname@freeisp.com) or similar is fine. In my case, people take a look at my name and agree that ok, (word than means sea)@freeisp.com is better than something with 30 letters and 7 periods, but that’s an exception. ---
**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 26, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/38 "2009-02-26T14:58:48Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > Basically, yahoo and hotmail, because of their attached IM clients, have a high number of kids signing up for them, so they’re seen as immature. They have also been around longer. I’ve had my Hotmail account for close to a decade, and yeah I was a kid when I signed up–I’m now in my 20s. By the time Gmail came around I didn’t want to switch–lets face it, changing main addresses is a hassle. I could get a new address with my real name, but I’m more likely to read something in a timely manner if it gets sent to my current account. (Partly _because_ of the IM client) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/39 "2009-02-26T16:13:12Z")
All of my email addresses are some variation of my real name; I’ve never thought of trying to come up with a nickname (I had enough trouble coming up with LurkMeister when I signed up here, since I didn’t want to use my real name). I just changed ISPs and was able to keep the same name on the new account. I also have a hotmail account (which I hardly ever use), a yahoo account (which I mainly use for my few group mail), and a new gmail account. ---
**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 26, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/40 "2009-02-26T22:12:03Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I do think that the simpler the yahoo or hotmail address, the more professional it looks, since if I see someone has [Lastname@yahoo.com](mailto:Lastname@yahoo.com), I know they’ve probably had it for many, many years, since all the simple ones are long gone. Not that I have a terribly common last name, I was pretty stoked to get [MyLastName@gmail.com](mailto:MyLastName@gmail.com). Not that I use it. To be honest, the way I use them, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail are all pretty much interchangeable to me. Even before I had my own domain, I really didn’t get why people were so passionate about their preferred free email client. I liked Gmail initially for its large storage and ability to deal with large attachment, but now everybody’s got that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330.md?page=3)