What email address is right for my job search?

JuliePower589@gmail.com didn’t sound memorable enough for my newly-updated resume or job application.

I’ve seen folks use email addresses and handles like fabcookandmotherroftwins@gmail.com and SexyLongLegs@Hotmail.com for job applications or on LinkedIn, but call me old fashioned, but it doesn’t seem professional enough to me …

If I use one of my existing email addresses, such as JuliePowerwritereditor@gmail.com,  it limits me to a narrow band of media jobs in a contracting market. (Besides, the password is lost, never to be retrieved again.)

So I tried to find a new Gmail address, using my first and last names, as recommended by most experts. Google’s Gmail confirmed that I am one of many Julie Powers. To differentiate from the other Julie Powers out there, including the Super Hero,  Julie Power AKA Lightspeed,  Gmail suggested:

Julie Power 4 is the best of a bad lot. The rest are totally forgettable and hard for an HR person to recall. When I considered using one of my existing Rocketmail email addresses,  a good friend asked if I’d heard of Google. Ouch. That’s not a good look for someone like me touting her new media skills.

I asked what HR experts thought of something like HireJuliePower@gmail.com.

Catchy? Silly?

Julie Power, lightspeed, can do anything.

Is it unprofessional? Or is it just the thing to stand out in the inbox of that jaded HR expert? For feedback, I went to the MomstoWork brain trust, our Twitter followers:

@MomsToWork

The very helpful @PrettyPinkPro (must ask her whether this is her email because it conjures up other versions of pros to me, if you get my drift), replied:

I responded:

@MomsToWork MomsToWork.com

She replied at length, arguing that it was too much of a gamble that it would be seen as gimmicky.

As background, four months ago we sold our house in Maryland, USA, quit our jobs, took the kids out of school, and moved back to Australia after 16 years in the USA. While I am not in a rush to go back to work, I do have to update my American resume and find a fresh email address, just in case the perfect job comes along.

What kind of email address do you use for finding a job? What’s the silliest email address you’ve seen? The dumbest you’ve seen on a resume?

Tell me before I go with WillWorkforLittleinExchangeforFlexibleKidFriendlyHours@Helpme.com

If you’re asking the same question, check out the tips posted below from Jumpstart Your Job Search.

	Does your e-mail address project the right image? Your e-mail should not be silly or playful, but professional. Do not use cute or “personal” e-mail addresses like queenmother@abc.com, JohnsonFamily@123.com, harleyhunk@abc.com, cat-luvR@)xyz.com, and so on.
	Is your e-mail address short and intuitive? Avoid e-mail addresses with long strings of numbers and letters. Try to select an e-mail address that’s easy to remember and get the shortest e-mail address you can find.
	Does your e-mail address include digits like L, I, 0, or O? The digit 0 looks like the letter O and a non-capitalized L (l) looks like a capitalized i (I). Avoid using these letters and digits.

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