The email address you have chosen says something about you. Just as all of the other customized addresses such as your Linkedin or Twitter address says something about you. You were given a choice, albeit the availability does have an impact on your decision but nonetheless, you had the final say.
If there is one component that is of the utmost importance in establishing your personal brand and online visibility, it is consistency! It will be difficult to maintain your “brand” if you have created conflicting addresses for your email and online profiles. Are you the icecreamguy@ with a viable ice cream business or are you charlesbennet@, a CIO in career transition? It is unlikely these two people are the same and maintaining consistent names when creating email or online addresses will help in clearly establishing your brand.
If you are managing an executive career, I wouldn’t suggest using an email address such as, fisherboy@ or partyanimal@. It may have been acceptable as a teenager when communication was limited to friends and family, (not that I would recommend it at any age), but it is sure to tarnish a professional image.
Although technology is evolving at a phenomenal rate and at times it may be difficult to stay on top of emerging trends, email addresses such as @AOL.com and @sympatico.ca have been dated for some time now and you do not want to be perceived as outdated or unaware of current trends. Sign up for new email addresses such as @rogers.com or @gmail.com.
Do not risk missing out on an opportunity because your email address is translated incorrectly. Get rid of the _ and the – and the 1 and the I. If you hand write your address it is often difficult to read the difference between the number 1 or the letter I and positioning is critical to decipher an underscore from a dash so eliminate any confusion, get rid of it and keep it simple.
Finally, if you send an email or provide the link to one of your online profiles will the recipient know who it is from? Who the heck is funny124!@??? If you are the icecreamguy@ be consistent in creating all of your addresses such as www.linkedin.com/icecreamguy or www.twitter.com/icecreamguy.
How many addresses do you have? Are they consistent? Are they representative of your brand? If a search is done, will you be found? Google Martin Buckland or Elite Resumes for consistent results and contact information.
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