Everyone would agree that in todays market you have got to do everything possible to stand out in the crowd of job seekers, and, one of the key elements of the job search is the resume. The areas that most people focus on while critiquing the resume are the summary/objective, experience and education sections. While I do agree that those sections are critical to resume greatness, there is one area that is often overlooked by job seekers and resume writers alike: the contact information section and what it says about you.

One of the first elements hiring managers look at on the resume is the contact information section. After all, it is usually the first section on the document. While job seekers do not have control over much of this section (name, address, phone), they do have total control over the email address they use on the resume. Utilize the email address to improve your personal brand.

Consider some helpful dos and donts regarding email addresses to be used on resumes and job search correspondence.

DO's

1. Keep it professional
   The most commonly used email address type on resumes is the simple and effective method of using one's own name plus one of the free email providers. The benefit of this choice is that it is virtually risk-less. The flip-side of course is that it can be boring and non-value added on the resume. All in all, it is a good way to go if you do not want to think too hard about your job search email address. Examples: janedoe@email.com, jane.doe@email.com, jdoe@email.com.



2. Show school spirit
   Many schools nowadays offer email addresses with life-long forwarding benefits. Using a school email address will capture the attention of alumni immediately and emphasize the job seekers value on education. This tactic is especially beneficial for graduates of top-ranked schools as well as graduate programs. Examples: jdoe@university.edu, janedoe2009@school.university.edu.



3. Hint at your skills
   A great method for emphasizing your unique skills, accomplishments and goals is to put one of them in your email address. That way, every time someone contacts you they will be reminded of your single most important attribute. Consider what you might want to stress to hiring managers and recruiters in terms of your hard skills, soft skills, and other attributes such as geography or work experience. The hard part is figuring out what to emphasize, but spending the time to create a unique email address could pay off dividends. Everyone will have a different level of comfort with the word choices and phrases with respect to what is appropriate vs. cheesy. Keep the point relative to your career and job skills and you should be fine. Examples: JaneThePPTMaster@email.com, BostonSalesExpert@email.com, JaneSixSigmaDoe@email.com.



4. Buy your own domain
   One way to prove initiative and entrepreneurship is to buy your own domain name! I am always impressed when I see job seekers (particularly non-tech job seekers) that have taken the time and effort to obtain their own domain name and email address for their own use instead of using a free email provider. It is not always necessary to actually develop the domain website, it will give you bonus points if you actually put something on your newly acquired site. You might as well use the space to your advantage and promote yourself. Examples: jane@janedoe.com, janedoe@bostonsalesexpert.com, hirejane@janethesalesexpert.com.

DONT's

1. Use nicknames
   Lets face it, all of us have email addresses that we used when email first became popular, or when we were younger, that have no relative meaning to people outside of our social circles or say too much about our personal lives. Stay away from using such legacy personal email addresses on your resume. Create a brand new email address just for your job search (by following the dos in this article) if you do not have another more professional personal email address. Examples: shortyjane@email.com, jDoeGoBlue97@email.com, SarahsDad@email.com.



2. Try to be too smart, funny or philosophical
   There is a fine line between witty and funny, and unfortunately that line is variable from person to person. I always advise people to stay away from using overt humor when you do not have the luxury of building context with complete sentences. Also, avoid using cliches, catch phrases or overly used buzzwords as you will probably turn-off more people than you will impress. Examples: CarpeDiemJane@email.com, RightSizeWronged@email.com, SolLegitIQuit@email.com.



3. Emphasize the politically incorrect (age, race, gender, political affiliations)
   This is probably the most obvious rule of the donts (or at least I hope it is!) These cardinal conversation sins should never grace the page of your resume: that is, unless you are applying to organizations that directly desire one of these attributes (such as a political campaign.) Avoid all connotation of your age, your race, your gender and your political affiliations. Examples: hotmamma1980@email.com, puertoricangal@email.com, republicanjane@email.com.

Let us take a quick survey. How many of you have filled out at least five applications? How about 10? 15? 20? Over 25 applications?

An application can be from one page to several pages, five, six, seven or more. How long does it take to fill out an application? It can take 5 minutes to an hour, sometimes several hours, depending on the company. Have you ever filled out an application online, the computer freezes and then it is all gone. That is not a fun feeling.

Have you noticed each company has a different application? An application from Wal-Mart will be totally different from the State of Florida. A City of Tallahassee is different from a Leon County application. A FSU application is different from a FAMU application. The bottom line is that every company has different criteria for what goes on their application.

An application functions just like a resume, it is designed to get you the interview.

We have a class called Applications How Tos that will assist you in creating a more effective application, it does not matter if it is a 1 page application or a 5 page application, you will get the basic dos and donts to increase your chances of getting a call back.

At the end of the training session, the participant will be able to:

1. Discuss the importance and purpose of the application


2. Discuss how employers use application


3. Discuss tips on completing an application


4. Complete an application that can be used as a model for employer applications


5. Discuss application etiquette and more.

When the economy is in bad shape, the job market is usually worse. Those with jobs are trying to stay employed and people without jobs are desperately trying to find a new job, both can be extremely stressful.

If you put in the time and effort into finding a new job you will be rewarded no matter how fierce the competition is. Stay motivated and persistent, finding a new job is your new job right now.

These are the top ten ways to find a new job: