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.

They have been renamed Southwest Job Network to better position themselves and be recognized as the premier valley wide resource for those in the community who are  in a job search or career transition or for anyone considering a change in careers during these challenging economic times.

During the month of June they have held events in other parts of the valley, on the west side of the valley in Glendale for their kickoff event at co-sponsor Glendale Community College a workshop entitled “Get Wired to Get Hired”  held on 6/4/09.

They also held an event at Chandler-Gilbert Community College on 6/11/09 for the start of their six part job search curriculum, with part one titled, “Understanding the Emotions of a Career Change”.

I attended both of these events as a supporter for SJN and one of the things I remember Eric Walton saying in his presentation at the Chandler event was something like “We are not a job service, and won’t get you a job, but will teach you to fish.”  That is a big part of what I like about SJN, and why I will continue to volunteer my time after I’ve landed my next position. People helping people, is what it’s all about.

SJN is staffed entirely by volunteers, from the founder Chris Vicari, and the other board members, to greeters at events who take new registrations and answer questions, to people who speak at the events, to those behind the scenes providing support in a variety of way including monitoring and approving messages on the Yahoo group, uploading and updating files, responding to information requests, to people who run for refreshments for the meetings, people who review resumes at some events, and people who handle the setup and take-down of audio-visual equipment at meetings, and those that provide technical assistance when needed.

Volunteering for SJN has been a blessing for me, I’ve met many amazing people through this organization.  I started this blog after several conversations with people at SJN including Bill Austin, who answered my questions about blogging, and many other members who I am able to bounce ideas off of to get feedback.

There are many exciting things coming up for SJN, and volunteering and getting involved is one way I know to expand your network, get out and be involved.

Losing a job has many emotional sides to it, and having only moved here a year and a half ago for a job, and only knowing a handful of people which were mainly the people I worked with, SJN and people I’ve met through this organization are there for moral and emotional support, and have been part of my support structure as I move forward in my job search.

As I last posted, I was given the opportunity to speak briefly at a blogging workshop hosted by SJN and was asked to give a job-seekers view on blogging, and how it’s another tool to use in and during your job search.  I likely would not have had that opportunity had I not been involved with and volunteering for SJN at that time.  An article ran in the Arizona Republic a short time after that event and can be found here: Baby Boomers turn to blogs to find jobs

Currently the website for SJN is at Scottsdalejobnet.com but will be transitioning to Southwestjobnet.com soon.

Happy Monday and Happy Reading!

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

For those of you that came to my site from that link initially, thank you But for those of you just coming across this now, it’s a link to a story and video clip of my job search and networking.

I started a dialog through email with Chris Sign last week after the Jobing.com Career Expo, because I wanted to link my blog post about my experience at the job fair to a story he wrote about it.

I sent him an email and asked him if I could use the link to pictures and the story in my blog post.  He responded, and said yes, and I told him I’d let him know when I posted the story I was writing.  I shot him a quick email after that, letting him know I’d published my blog post.

I never imagined a week later I’d get an email from him saying:

‘I would like to do a story about your blog and experiences involving the job search’

I got the email  about an hour after after he sent it as I hadn’t been checking my email often, I thought about emailing him back, and asking more information, but he did give me his cell # in the email, so instead picked up the phone and called him and I am glad I didn’t miss out on the opportunity.  Chris said they were doing a quick interview in North Scottsdale, and he would like to come over after that to interview me.

I figured I was one of many they were interviewing for this story, and it would be fun to get out there, to have a little clip or comment on the news.

He asked me a question during the interview which I’m paraphrasing here as I don’t recall his exact words, “What would you say to people who may be afraid of or unfamiliar with the technology?”, and my comment about “You can choose to embrace it and go with it.” was part of my comment that made it on the air.

There was of course things that didn’t make it to the edited version which runs a little bit longer than a minute 30 seconds, I mentioned several other important groups and sites in the unedited interview that are a part of my job search efforts:

1. Scottsdale Job Network – SJN (www.scottsdalejobnet.com)
2. St Patricks Employment Support Ministry (www.stpatrickscottsdale.org/W2/ministries/)
3. Health care network group meeting (currently no active website, but hope I can help with that soon)
4. Jobshouts  (jobshouts.com) @jobshouts on twitter
5. JobAngels (www.jobangels.org) @jobangels on twitter

There are other resources I also didn’t mention in the interview and off camera that I will be sharing as I start to write more, as well as sharing more of my experiences since the story aired.

I will be adding a page to my blog with contact information soon, so anyone wanting to contact me off the blog can do so, but please feel free to post comments to my posts.

I have also tagged names of people who are part of the above mentioned groups and will write about the people and their relationship to each group at a later time.

Look for more coming in the next few days.

Happy reading!

-Martin

I got back a question from a contact on one of the lists:

With some 14,000 people attending the recent Jobing.com fair, should we even consider these fairs worth our time?

My response in part is below:

I went to the Jobing.com career fair the other day, arrived later than I had originally planned, but still got in front of employers, and got my resume in their hands, and what happens next, is anyone’s guess, but I did what I felt needed to be done in order that I may secure a job in the near future.

To put the answer to the question you posed “With some 14,000 people attending the recent Jobing.com fair, should we even consider these fairs worth our time?” The simple answer, for me, I say is YES, it is worth it, even if you never get in front of an employer (but hopefully that won’t happen), you are out there to network not only with the employers, but those around you also seeking jobs, and you never know if a recruiter or business owner might be one of the people you strike up a conversation and talk to ‘out in the open.’

It may sound counter-productive, but you never know where that next opportunity will come from, if it’s from a job seeker who’s got a friend or relative working at a target company or company in the same industry you’re looking in, all the better. I carry a business card holder with me with about 15-20 of my nework cards at ALL times, you never know when that opportunity will be there to network with someone.

Also, something I heard in the Connections meeting Wednesday evening … that got a laugh out of just about everyone in the room, and I can’t remember who said it, but they were at the job fair too and said ‘if you apply online at a company that was at the job fair, tell them you were at the job fair and talked to someone there, and they would ‘never know the difference’. That last part is what got the laugh, but it’s also mostly true.

Even though these folks behind the booths at the job fair didn’t have personal business cards for the most part (or if they did, they were not sharing), I would ask their name and write it down, and what company they were with if they were willing to share that information, one of the gals I talked to at one of the health care booths even offered me her work email address to follow up with her later.

As I was leaving the job fair with my portfolio in hand, I met one last person walking out with me who actually asked, “Are you a recruiter?” and I told her that no, I wasn’t,  and I asked her what prompted her to ask me that and she’d overheard part of a conversation I was having with someone else as I was walking out and I’d mentioned to that person about a recruiter I was currently working with to find a job … We talked briefly about our experience inside, I handed her my network card, and asked her to follow up with me later.

…I could be an advocate for any number of groups or causes, I happen to have strong feelings for both SJN and the St Pats employment ministry, each doing good in their own way on their own merits, and I’ve learned so much in such a short time about the importance of building face to face relationships and being professional about it…

My main point being, is get out in front of people, even if you think it’s a bit inconvenient, crowded, or whatever, make the time to connect. I networked with those around me at the job fair, and handed them my ‘network’ card, and asked them to follow up with me later.  How many of those people that will actually contact me, I have no clue. Only one other person I spoke to had a business card, and someone handed me a copy of their resume that had their contact information on it as it was the only thing they had.

…because I’ve really started to learn the value of networking, and it’s not just ‘collecting business cards’ or ‘connections’ on sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, or followers on twitter, but building real face to face relationships that will connect you with that ‘next great career opportunity’…

I have to admit that I’m a bit in awe of what face to face networking and social media has done for me, and the exposure it’s gotten me in just the last few days.

I asked Chris Vicari at the last SJN meeting “how can I help this group? I want to volunteer.” She referred me to another board member, Michael Prahl, who is in charge of forming an ambassador program for SJN, and we’ve discussed a few things, I will follow up with him next week. I’m no longer afraid of picking up the phone, or asking to meet someone for lunch, a drink, coffee or whatever, and saying ‘this is what I need, how can you help me?” or “this is what I have to offer, how can I help you?”

I even emailed a reporter for ABC 15 on Thursday morning asking to use a piece of his article on the job fair in my blog, he allowed me to link to the story and pictures, and I plan on following up with him once I post the information to my blog.

I was sent a private message by another prominent blog poster saying “thanks for the kind words.” I made some comments about networking and the tips they had on their blog, when we were chatting back and forth on Twitter, I went to their blog and posted my ‘tip’ about networking because they requested new tips and I didn’t see a guest commentary about networking, I don’t know if it will appear on their blog, but I did give that as my ‘big tip’

Also on Thursday after I sent out a message to about half of my network contacts on LinkedIn asking them politely to join a group on LinkedIn that I felt was going someplace and important to me, I got a reply back from the CEO of a company that I’d met at networking events the last two months, that he was ‘serious about working with me.’ He initially was looking for some free PR for his own business through various avenues of social media by my messages, (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to be specific), but through a short dialog with him, I ended it with saying, “we need to meet and talk about how we can help eachother.”

I contacted a co-owner of another company who reviews job blogs, who said to me, “you should talk to ‘so and so’ at this ‘other company’, and here’s my idea on how to approach him…” … He’s already been reading my blog and said I was off to a good start and said if I needed anything to just ask.

I hope my long answer gives you enough insight on why I say “Yes” to your question “is it worth the time?”

Regards,

Martin

——————————————————————

I’m meeting with someone this morning in about an hour that I met through a connection and we are going to go over my resume and ‘spruce it up a bit.’  I’m looking forward to that, and he is meeting with a new client right after we meet, so my information will be fresh on his mind, and he will be thinking of a way I may be able to help this other company based on my experience.

I also have an alert for “Martin Piraino” and a couple of other variations, and get at least one or two emails a day lately.

I found myself quoted on another blog – regarding a tweet I answered about avatars on Twitter, should it be a picture or logo? My take on it was to have picture unless it is a company, then logo is ok.

The post in it’s entirety is located here:  Twitter Avatars – Photo vs. Logo

Pretty interesting to have my opinion counted in this and to find it on Google.

My little piece of it is noted below:

MartinPiraino I prefer to see a picture not a logo, unless it is a business, then logo is ok.

I met Israel at a meeting at SJN a couple of months ago and have exchanged a few emails with him about my job search, and he connected me with some recruiters I’ve now built relationships with in hopes of landing a new job.

I never spoke with Jason, but his tag on facebook profile is currently “will do whatever it takes!!” 

The other quotes on his profile are also a bit profound, but this one in particular caught my attention.   I know with social media and the internet, it is about creating yourself, getting yourself noticed, creating a brand, being in the right place at the right time, and building that network of support through a variety of channels.