Part of what Gmail offers with their email is the ability to put a plus (+) sign between your real email address and the @ (at) symbol to create an extended and unique email address from your regular Gmail email address.

I’ve seen a few web sites you may try to use this process on that will either error out and ask you to re-enter an email address or it can’t process it due to back-end programming issues that can’t handle the plus (+) sign properly in the middle of an email address, but for the most part I haven’t had many problems with creating and using an address this way.

When you sign up on a web page you should begin using this method if it’s a job search site, forum you read, or any other types of information you want to track from this source,  you can even use this email address on your resume.

Using this method you can create a number of email addresses and filters to help you sort out messages you receive during and even after your job search when you’ve landed and are working again.

I have an email address printed on my network/business card with the plus (+) address format so I can track where my information is being seen and used or passed around.  It’s another way to know if you’re marketing yourself well because you can ask someone where they saw or got that particular plus (+) email address from that they contacted you with.

The following are the steps to take to create a filter in Gmail and I’ve included screen shots to help you follow along as well:

• When logged into Gmail there will  be a “create a filter” link on the main page after the search options as shown below:

• Click on “Create a filter” as shown above and the following screen will appear:

• It will ask you to choose the search criteria, and as noted above, you would put the “new” email address in the To: field, which will be in the format of yourgmailaddress+somefilter@gmail.com, in the example given in the screenshot your gmail address would normally be testaccount@gmail.com and you would create a word to put after the plus sign and before the @ (at) sign to use on, and in the example above you are looking to filter emails from LinkedIn, so the full email address would be testaccount+linkedin@gmail.com.
• After entering the email address you are going to be using, you would then click “next step”, and the following screen will appear:

• First you would select apply the label, and in the drop-down that is next to it, either use an existing label you’ve created, or create one to handle these newly filtered messages
• The next two steps are not entirely necessary, but I’ve found if I’m looking for an email to this email address and want to see it immediately, I send it to another email address that doesn’t get a lot of messages (for example a blackberry address) and because you want to save these messages, check the “Never send it to spam”
• Lastly, click on “Create Filter” and the filter will be created for you.

To make it easier to follow, I have created a two page PDF document with the above instructions you can print out and follow along with that is available for download at the following link:  Using Gmail Email Filters to Assist in Your Job Search.pdf

If you have any tips on using email filtering, how and why you use it, on Gmail or some other platform (webmail or an email program on your computer) please share them in the comments below.

In composing this post I had most of it written and then I found a couple of articles on another web site that have some pointers, advice, and comments about the email address you use that I wanted to share.

One of the articles is titled “What’s your Email Address Prejudice?” in which the author,  Jason Fitzpatrick references an article,  “AOL e-mail address: Is it hopelessly square to keep it?” by Nancy E. Anderson a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

I personally still have an AOL email address, but I haven’t given it out or used it in a personal or professional setting in a very long time. I no longer have the AOL service either, but the email address remains free and I do check it from time to time.

I find nothing inherently wrong with an AOL address, but as mentioned in some of the comments on the posts above, it’s a throwback to ‘old’ technology.  I’ve had the old Compuserve address with the number.number@compuserve.com, as well as an email address on a internet service called Delphi, (the link to Delphi used here is what the site used to look like from web.archive.org,  a wikipedia article on the history of Delphi is located here. I was a member prior to 1997 but that is as far back as the Wayback Machine had a site snapshot) which is what I considered my first true internet email address, back then it was simply, firstinitiallastname@delphi.com for my email address and the service was completely text based.

Yesterday I saw another post on the lifehacker.com site also by Jason, titled “Know What Your Email Address Says About You”

After browsing through the many comments and reading through the articles, my advice below has not changed, and it seemed most agreed about not using the ‘cute’ email address names, and Jason makes an excellent point with this quote – “Like your clothing, your hair style, and your manner of speaking, your email address is part of your personal image.”

First and foremost, for those people especially in transition, you want to be able to project a positive image in your job search with whoever you interact with.  My recommendation is to use something in the format of firstnamelastname@domain.com, if it’s taken it’s okay to use a number or maybe middle initial to make it distinct.

Another choice is firstname.lastname@domain.com, just keep it simple and professional, that’s the main thing.  Addresses such as deerhunter22@domain.com or freakyfreddy@domain.com or sometypeofhobby@domain.com are ones that you should avoided using during your job search, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an email address like that, but with so many different email services, making a new clean email address for your job search should be very simple.

I’ve talked to some local recruiters this week as well and they also recommend against using those ‘cute’ type of email addresses.  To be more professional, especially on a resume you’re emailing or handing to someone, most recommended the firstname.lastname@domain.com or some variation of that type of format.

Even if you’re using your internet providers email, the company I use, Cox Communications, allows up to 7 email addresses to be created per account, if you haven’t reached that limit, create one there to use specifically for your job search and networking. Also, if you own your domain name, you may have the ability to create an email address with your domain hosting account such as info@mydomainnamename.com.

All in all what I found in those articles and comments is that it does make a difference what is before the @ (at) sign, not so much who the email provider is.

What are your thoughts or ideas on the type of email address that should be used? Is it ok to use “cute” handles? Have you been told your email address is ‘dated’ (ie. AOL, Hotmail, etc)? Have you been told by a recruiter or some other authority in your job search to get or create a new email address?  Please comment below.

For those of you in transition and seeking a new opportunity, there are a few things at minimum that I think should be on the card:

• Name
• Title or a your main competencies
• Email address
• Valid current phone number(s)
• Web page (if you have a blog or web page you host yourself, you may want to put it on your card)
• Your social media site profile addresses (I’ve seen more recently on cards LinkedIn profiles in particular but if you’re on other sites such as twitter, or facebook  you can have that on your card as well)

I’m attaching an image of my current card for an example, I use Vistaprint but there are other printing services out there such as iPrint.com or a local print shop as well.

One thing that I got on my last order and it was only a couple more dollars was an electronic copy of my card, that I can attach to emails using Outlook, that is the representation that you see below, with the phone numbers blanked out.

I’ve found it gives a bit more professional touch than the card that’s created in an email when you click to add “Business Card” in Outlook. I delete the card pasted in the email by Outlook but leave my contact information .vcf file attached. This way someone I email will have my current contact information and can save it in their contacts.

You may notice the email address on the card being a bit different, and I will explain about that in another post.  I’ve had people question it thinking it was a mis-print or wrong, but it is correct.

One other tip for those in transition, if you happen to have business cards from your old employer -     do not use them when you are out networking and seeking a new position, having to write other contact information on an old card just doesn’t look right, and I feel you’d only  be hurting yourself by giving an old business card to someone new.  Spend  a few dollars and get new cards printed, even if you buy business card stock and print a simple card on your home computer.

What are some other items you would add to your card? How about the back of the card? Blank or some other information? Please comment below.

I was invited to the workshop  to talk and speak briefly about a job seekers view on blogging, why I decided on blogging,  the learning curve, any problems I’ve encountered, topic I picked, benefits of blogging in relation to the job search, and if I’d recommend blogging to others.

Angelo was kind enough to email me the first picture,  in which I am addressing the audience,  and he posted some other photos of the event on flickr here.

Angelo did a very good job cramming a 3 hour workshop into a 2 hour time frame.  He gave an overview of what a blog is, being a permanent record of an experience, interaction, or an event.  How it can be used to get noticed by employers, and that blogging is a community of people, with shared interests and ideas on numerous topics.

Angelo gave an interesting comparison between business cards, resumes, other social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, and a Blog going over about 11 comparison points, and how a blog can show so much more than any of the other forms in relation to marketing yourself.

One of the last things he went over and helped some in the class was to actually set up a blog, Bette Publicker volunteered to have him help get her set up and running.

I’ve done a search since then on google and found another member that started a blog that night Liz Alexander.

For those of you that attended the event, please leave a comment here letting me know your blog site,  I’m interested in following your blogs to see how they develop.

Over the coming week I will write more about my experience, and the talking points I mentioned above.

Happy Reading!

-Martin

Its really important,  not just with photographs, but almost any online content, you should think before you post, who may see it, and how they may view it, especially if it is a prospective employer.

Keep it private if you need to.  I wrote a post on my blog and made password protected, and shared with few people who I trusted, and have since made it private.  It was an issue I had with copyright infringement that at the time was appropriate, but since I’ve been blogging for a while, I’ve learned to lighten up a bit and not take that issue as serious as I had.

I have chosen at this time to keep my Facebook profile public, I do have a Myspace page, but haven’t updated it in over a year, and don’t intend on doing so at this time, it is set to private so that only my friends can see it.  Nothing to worry about there, just that I’ve chosen not to update or use myspace at this time, and made it private.

Two things I’ve done actually are matching up my online profiles across the sites with the same picture, for brand recognition mainly, so people know it’s me and what I’ve written.  Secondly, when I change the photo one one site, I chage it across the board, even on sites that I would consider more social than professional.

I do have links to various social networking sites on my contact page. I do have a Youtube channel, I do have Picasa, and other photo sharing accounts which can be shared on different social media networks, but I have not and will not post inappropriate photos or videos of myself or others because on some sites such as Facebook you can Tag a photo with another users name, and it will be attached to their account, and can be looked up as well.

In my job search and in person networking, even meeting someone for the first time, I generally dress up than down, unless it’s stated prior to the meeting that it is casual.

Coming from a background in IT, the places I’ve worked in recent past have been business casual, allowing for polo shirts instead of dress shirts, and at times jeans instead of slacks.

I had an assignment through a staffing firm recently, and asked the recruiter about how I should dress for the assignment, and was asked to wear slacks, but when I showed up, almost everyone else was wearing jeans, I felt a bit out of place, but it was ok.

I had asked about dress code prior to the assignment, and done the work that was asked of me. I talked with one of the recruiters yesterday when I went to pick up my paycheck, asking him if there was any feedback from the client on the work performed, he said there were no issues, the work was performed quickly and correctly, and his comment was ‘no news is good news’.  I hope to work again for that client, because it was an enjoyable work experience, and I learned a few things in the process I hadn’t done before.

Another good idea is to google yourself, or set up a google alert, which I wrote about here,  because it can give you an idea of what employers can find about you online.

Happy Friday and Happy reading!

-Martin