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Chapter 1 Online Presence
communicate available jobs and to schedule
interviews with job candidates. A separate e-mail
account will enable you to manage communication
for the job-search process and other professional
business.
Examples of e-mail addresses are shown in
Figure 1-2. How might an employer perceive
applicants with these e-mail addresses? What
would each of the e-mail accounts refl ect about
potential job candidates?
An e-mail address is a refl ection of the owner
of the e-mail account. For that reason, use your
formal name for a professional e-mail account.
Recruiters and human resource departments
may sort job applicants by names that appear in
the e-mail address. This is especially important
for any follow-up contact an employer may have
with a candidate. The employer expects to see an
e-mail contact by name, not an unprofessional
e-mail address.
To create your professional e-mail account,
investigate free e-mail accounts with a provider
whose name presents a more professional or
business-like tone. For example, Yahoo offers
conduct an Internet search of your name, and the
results are anything but positive, consider what
you can do to refl ect a more positive image.
You might think that searching for your name
in a search engine where no results are returned
is acceptable. Yet a nonexistent online presence
denotes lack of technology skills, abilities, or lack
of motivation or proactive thinking.
There are occasions when you may share
the same name as another person. If this occurs,
you will want to examine the results. If possible,
think of how to differentiate your name in your
online accounts by using a middle initial, for
example. This way you have a unique online
presence when someone conducts an Internet
search for your name.
Professional E-mail
Account
Before you begin the career-exploration
process, create a professional e-mail account. It
is best to keep your personal and professional
activities separate. Businesses use e-mail to
Types of Online Presence
Positive Search engine results reflect your professional accomplishments.
Negative Search engine results reflect activities that negatively impact your chances of
getting hired.
Nonexistent A search engine returns no results that match your name.
Shared Search engine results are an exact match to your name; however, the results are
not about you, but about someone with your same name.
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 1-1 The goal is to have a positive, professional online presence.
Sample E-mail Addresses
Personal E-mail Address Professional E-mail Address
hockeystar@gmail.com
sassy55555@yahoo.com
totallyrockin_thehouse@yahoo.com
kevin.jones@ymail.com
carol_smith@gmail.com
jdouglas@rocketmail.com
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 1-2 A professional e-mail account should be created to keep your business life separate from your social life.