Using your real name as your Gmail address

[Quillz]

Professional is not "[email protected]" or "[email protected]", it's [email protected]. Even if you're going for something in a technology field, having an @gmail.com or @hotmail.com address is not going to be a mark against you. I don't even think anyone would pay attention to it.

That being said, [email protected] is way better than [email protected] or [email protected] and such, for obvious reasons.

[email protected] is the way to go

Seriously, this. People DO NOT CARE what e-mail provider you use.

[Lee G. Veteran]

I have my real name as my gmail address and I have to say it's a pain in the backside. I get so much legitimate random email for other people with my name - family messages, invites to parties, information on school PTA's and so forth (girls basketball?!) - it's pretty annoying.

Yeah, I get the same. I have [email protected] (of course with Gmail, the . is irrelevant). People have also created various accounts with my email address. A couple of months ago someone signed up to a dating site with my address. It's very annoying, but at least you can recover the password and delete the account etc.

[asim0]

LastName.FirstName@... here

[Sir Topham Hatt]

You're right, its not as 'professional' as having one on your own domain.

However

1) It looks better than @hotmail, @msn, @aol

2) People know what gmail is.

3) Its easier for someone to remember than [email protected], especially if you are giving it to someone who isn't a client or associate already.

1) I would suggest @msn.com is more professional than gmail.

2) People know what hotmail is too.

3) I have my first name at my full name . com <-- if it's on my CV/Resume then it will show the most professionalism and cause them to remember your name.

[Aaron Veteran]

Mine is:

[email protected]

I work in the IT field and if I were in charge of hiring, I would NOT be extra impressed if someone had a domain name just for their email. In fact, if I did notice a custom domain name I would visit it to see what was hosted there. Just make one that is tidy and clean on the username side and don't worry about the domain.

[splur]

I've had my gmail as my real name since gmail was the "brand spanking new exclusive email system". Still haven't got spam. Actually surprisingly around the same time I decided to get a new hotmail account as well, also my real name, and that hasn't received spam either.

The trick is to use some email account you don't really care about (ie. [email protected]) to use for whenever you sign up for things or enter contests, or whatever people do online, and just forward it to your actual email.

[dewaaz]

I suppose from your post that you may also be one of those people who wear stained khakis to an interview because your clothes are not relevant to your work abilities?

LOL you suppose wrong.

For the record, I live on planet Earth. I have no idea where you must come from, but it's surely not Earth... maybe planet Email or something.

[Minifig]

I use my real name as my gmail account for my MAIN email, I've only had ONE issue, which happened just recently.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car was sending me emails for someone who registered to pick a car up, but apparently they typoed the name on the email, because I don't even have a license or live anywhere near the area where the car was supposed to be picked up. :laugh: I called them, gave them the usual number I give as a contact number (my mobile/cell) and asked them if that was the regular number, and they said "oh dear.." They put me on hold, got a hold of the original person to pick up the car, and corrected the mistake RESOLVED the mistake and corrected the typo in the email all at the same time.. and were quite grievously upset about doing a spam on my email.

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

[email protected] or something is more professional than gmail, but gmail is more professional than msn/wlm/live/w.e if you ask me, As far as having your name as email address is concerned. If you get spam. gmail will filter it.

[Ambroos]

[email protected] is my email adress. Ambroos as in Ambroos (my real first name, believe me or not) and V (first letter of last name). I also have www.*firstname*lastname*.be but I don't use it's email since it's just too much for a normal guy.

GMail has an awesome spam filter, and if I sign up somewhere I usually use [email protected] (arrives in the same inbox but you can filter them out to a label with a rule). Everyone in my family has a GMail. My uncle's [email protected] also arrives in a GMail inbox together with all his old email adresses simply because GMail is by far the best online mail service there is.

[Rappy Veteran]

I get alot of emails aimed at other Damien's like CV's and once a house offer :p

[iZoom]

The fact that people are getting so hot and bothered over what follows the @ symbol in their e-mail address is amusing to say the least.

With that being said, I think that YES, in certain fields such as IT or similar careers, the e-mail address and domain says a lot about the person and their character.

However, if a lady or gentleman were looking to be hired for some assistant manager position at Staples, McDonalds, ABC Liquors, etc...I would imagine

the domain and e-mail address play far less an important role. In my opinion, it is all about the context in which the person is viewing the address. It seems

as though people want to put a general blanket feeling towards the whole idea, rather than positive/negative in certain situations.

[JMABirdUNC]

Well, it seems the consensus in these last 3 pages is that it somewhat doesn't matter what name you use in front of the @, and that it somewhat doesn't matter what kind of e-mail service you use... be it Gmail, Hotmail, Live, your own domain, etc...

[_dandy_]

2. Why tie your email address to a company or uni/college? What if I no longer work for that company?

That's why you keep all business mail separate from your personal email. I have essentially 3 email addresses:

a) All my business mail goes to whatever address my current employer assigns me. Read your employment contract, odds are pretty good (if it was written/reviewed by a lawyer) that it actually states that any correspondence, email or otherwise, remains their property, so always go the extra mile to keep those separate. None of my friends, not even my family, have my work email--they have no need for it whatsoever. They can send their daily jokes crap to my personal email. They have my number for emergencies, but that's it--and email is not a channel for emergencies.

b) My personal email is [realname]@hotmail.com (which I've had for over a dozen years), and this is the address I put on my r?sum?. I've had old work contacts look me up through that address, so I feel it's important you have one public address that'll remain consistent through the years, wherever you happen to work.

c) If you're going to be a dick in some public forum that's going to get picked up by a search engine, that's where you use [somepseudoname]@[whatever.com]--a throwaway address. One also has the option of not being a dick on public forums.

2.5. I would never care to associate my PERSONAL 'identity' with my employer, or college. I am not defined by my employer, nor the college I studied at.

Agreed.