# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**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, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/41 "2009-02-26T23:19:08Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > 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? I probably was actually. (It’s actually silvercat17, but same diff, right?). Are all generic email addresses bad? Should anybody looking for a job get an email address that’s some variation on their name? If I was looking for a job, would you not hire me based on that? Does it make a difference what position I’m looking for? Say their name was Catherine Catrine (to pull something out of my ass), would ‘kittycat’ be an acceptable abbreviation of that? (Yes, Kitty can be a nickname of Catherine). ---
**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, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/42 "2009-02-26T23:34:54Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > I probably was actually. (It’s actually silvercat17, but same diff, right?). Are all generic email addresses bad? Should anybody looking for a job get an email address that’s some variation on their name? If I was looking for a job, would you not hire me based on that? Does it make a difference what position I’m looking for? > > Say their name was Catherine Catrine (to pull something out of my ass), would ‘kittycat’ be an acceptable abbreviation of that? (Yes, Kitty can be a nickname of Catherine). Not all generic email addresses are equally bad–but those that make you sound very young are not good. Look, for your _personal_ e-mail, kittycat is harmless and silvercat17 is more distinctively harmless. Would I refuse to hire you because you used a kittycat style email address? Questionable–it sure beats SexyMcHottie. But if I’m judging you on the basis of your email address, the whys of your chosen email are irrelevant. What matters is the first impression. Names–good. Words like cordylus–neutral. Words like kittycat or momof3 or lulusmom–not so good. Words like SexyMcHottie–really bad. In a world where I get 6 resumes per job opening, I might interview all but SexyMcHottie. In a world where I get 600 per job opening–I might do some more weeding, and my first impression of kittycat is bad. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/43 "2009-02-26T23:47:59Z")
Maybe I’m weird, and I’m obviously not in the working world, but I honestly cringe when I see first.lastname for something, it just strikes me as an utter lack of creativity, so much so that it outweights any sense of professionalism. Only a small subset ([heroineIzGreat@gmail.com](mailto:heroineIzGreat@gmail.com), sexyMcHottie@Yahoo, VampyreKitty666@aol, you know things deliberately offensive, illegal, or way off average social mores) go too far, but something like [kittycat@whatever.com](mailto:kittycat@whatever.com) or system.in.read@\.com would make me like the person more and make me more likely to want to work with them on a project or hire them more, [first.lastname@free-isp.com](mailto:first.lastname@free-isp.com) just seems so… lazy and uninspired. ---
**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/44 "2009-02-27T00:26:03Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Maybe I’m weird, and I’m obviously not in the working world, but I honestly cringe when I see first.lastname for something, it just strikes me as an utter lack of creativity, so much so that it outweights any sense of professionalism. Only a small subset ([heroineIzGreat@gmail.com](mailto:heroineIzGreat@gmail.com), sexyMcHottie@Yahoo, VampyreKitty666@aol, you know things deliberately offensive, illegal, or way off average social mores) go too far, but something like [kittycat@whatever.com](mailto:kittycat@whatever.com) or system.in.read@\.com would make me like the person more and make me more likely to want to work with them on a project or hire them more, [first.lastname@free-isp.com](mailto:first.lastname@free-isp.com) just seems so… lazy and uninspired. Haha, maybe it depends on the type of job you’re going for. If you’re applying for a creative job, use a creative name. If you’re applying as a data entry clerk, [first.last@isp.com](mailto:first.last@isp.com) might be preferred 🙂 ---
**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 27, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/45 "2009-02-27T00:30:47Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Maybe I’m weird, and I’m obviously not in the working world, but I honestly cringe when I see first.lastname for something, it just strikes me as an utter lack of creativity, so much so that it outweights any sense of professionalism. Only a small subset ([heroineIzGreat@gmail.com](mailto:heroineIzGreat@gmail.com), sexyMcHottie@Yahoo, VampyreKitty666@aol, you know things deliberately offensive, illegal, or way off average social mores) go too far, but something like [kittycat@whatever.com](mailto:kittycat@whatever.com) or system.in.read@\.com would make me like the person more and make me more likely to want to work with them on a project or hire them more, [first.lastname@free-isp.com](mailto:first.lastname@free-isp.com) just seems so… lazy and uninspired. I don’t think your email address is the right place to showcase your creativity and talent. What’s creative about coming up with an email address? Besides, I’d like to go with the odds with something like this – I don’t think firstname.last [name@isp.com](mailto:name@isp.com) is going to deny you any interviews, unless you’re dealing with a rather eccentric HR person. [CutesyOhLookAtMeImSoCreative@isp.com](mailto:CutesyOhLookAtMeImSoCreative@isp.com) might not cost you many interviews in and of itself, but why take the risk? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/46 "2009-02-27T02:44:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t think your email address is the right place to showcase your creativity and talent. What’s creative about coming up with an email address? Besides, I’d like to go with the odds with something like this – I don’t think firstname.last [name@isp.com](mailto:name@isp.com) is going to deny you any interviews, unless you’re dealing with a rather eccentric HR person. [CutesyOhLookAtMeImSoCreative@isp.com](mailto:CutesyOhLookAtMeImSoCreative@isp.com) might not cost you many interviews in and of itself, but why take the risk? Oh, of course, I know I’m in the minority on this, when I apply I’m going to use my university email, which is structured the way most people are mentioning in this thread, it’s a really odd personal hangup that makes me go “oh, sure, ANYONE can do that.” You’re right it’s not the place to showcase creativity, it’s just one of the first places I look and wouldn’t put a mark against a potential hiree for it, but it may slightly warm my opinion of two otherwise similar people. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/47 "2009-02-27T03:17:07Z")
> [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > Should anybody looking for a job get an email address that’s some variation on their name? Yes. Or something else that’s simple and professional. You don’t want people to “notice” your email address any more than you want people to “notice” your phone number. Your home phone number might indeed spell out SUPERFARTS, but you don’t want to list it that way on your resume. > [@](#): > > Say their name was Catherine Catrine (to pull something out of my ass), would ‘kittycat’ be an acceptable abbreviation of that?) Not for an email address to be used for professional purposes. What would be your motivation for using “kittycat” instead of [C.C.Lastname@isp.com](mailto:C.C.Lastname@isp.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 27, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/48 "2009-02-27T04:52:49Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Oh, of course, I know I’m in the minority on this, when I apply I’m going to use my university email, which is structured the way most people are mentioning in this thread, it’s a really odd personal hangup that makes me go “oh, sure, ANYONE can do that.” You’re right it’s not the place to showcase creativity, it’s just one of the first places I look and wouldn’t put a mark against a potential hiree for it, but it may slightly warm my opinion of two otherwise similar people. It really does depend on the job, as mentioned upthread. If you’re applying to a Fortune 500 company, I’m sure there’s plenty of people who would count it as a mark against you. More creative or off-beat jobs, not so much, depending on the company. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/49 "2009-02-27T05:18:57Z")
I recently signed up for my name at [mail.com](http://mail.com). They have a TON of email domains that could be used professionally. I can’t speak for the reliability of the email server, though. I just remember that there were a lot of choices for domain name. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/50 "2009-02-27T05:27:47Z")
> [@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) Same problem. I ended up settling for [FirstnameLastnameSOMENUMBERS@gmail.com](mailto:FirstnameLastnameSOMENUMBERS@gmail.com) Now… do the 3 digits spoil the whole address? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/51 "2009-02-27T05:33:21Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Same problem. I ended up settling for [FirstnameLastnameSOMENUMBERS@gmail.com](mailto:FirstnameLastnameSOMENUMBERS@gmail.com) Now… do the 3 digits spoil the whole address? Alright, everyone prepared for something COMPLETELY arbitrary given my previous statement? I think numbers make you look like you’re stuck in 1999, and possibly lazy. There are scores of free email addresses and it looks like you didn’t try hard enough to find one, be sure to try all reasonable permutations of your name as well. That means A\_Dub, A\_Dubinsky, AlexD, AlexDub, AlexDubinsky, Alex\_Dubin, Alex.Dubin etc etc. There are hundreds of possible ways you can truncate your name and still have it obviously be YOUR email, even if it’s short, and not have to resort to numbers, not the least of which is trying gmail if yahoo isn’t going well, hotmail if gmail isn’t etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330/52 "2009-02-27T05:35:55Z")
I think what would really 1up [SexyMcHottie@aol.com](mailto:SexyMcHottie@aol.com) is to register a porn domain name. Now, who here wants [firstname.lastname@the-voyeur.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@the-voyeur.com)? Come on, it’d look PERFECT on your resume. I can make it happen 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-yahoo-hotmail-unprofessional-seeming/487330.md?page=2)