I am thinking of changing my email address because it no longer looks professional. My current email address is "[email protected]". What do you think contributes to a professional email address? Should I create my own domain for my email address or use a popular source like Gmail?

All comments and recommendations are appreciated!

Hey there!

Soon starting my second year studying computer science, really liked the first year, especially the programming classes (Python, Java), learning some C++ and Rust the coming year :)

We got recommended to start working on our Linkedin profiles during year 2, and I'm thinking it's time to get rid of the "ponygirl2005"-sounding address I've had since I was a kid and get one I can use in a professional setting.

I like gmail and plan to use it, but my name is already taken. I've looked around here on Reddit and picked up some tips, but I'm having a hard time deciding on what would be the best both for private use and not look out of place in a professional setting.

The tips I've seen on Reddit are:

1. Add your middle name initial or birth year to the address. "jane.j.doe" is already taken, same with "jane.doe.05" and "jane.doe.2005". "jane.j.doe.2005" is free, but is that a bit "much"? I get the feeling it might not look professional?

2. An alternative to the suggestion above would be the complete middle name, but my middle name is a bit long, and my first name isn't really a short "jane", would be more along the lines jeanette.josephine.doe, maybe a bit long?

3. Adding something with the line of work to the address. How about adding "dev", or something similar? "jeanette.doe.dev"? Does this sound good or silly? Also thinking - what if I get into business intelligence/data warehousing, would a "dev" be out of place then?

4. Using protonmail instead of gmail. This came up several times in other discussions. There the first few suggestions are available.

tl;dr - best professional email for a future dev in your opinion?

jeanette.j.doe.2005@gmail - "messy"?
jeanette.josephine.doe@gmail - long?
jeanette.doe.dev@gmail - is "dev" good? What if I end up in BI/data warehousing, still good?
jeanette.j.doe@protonmail - is Protonmail a good alternative with a professional vibe?
jeanette.doe.05@protonmail -same as above

Any other suggestions? Thanks :)

Hey guys, I recently graduated and am looking for a job. The email I'm using right now sounds unprofessional, made it as a kid. I'm having trouble thinking of ideas that include my name, but it's pretty common (both first and last name) and everything I can think of is taken.

Edit: Common combos I've tried are variations of my first name/initial, last name/initial, and physical location.

And do you think simply [first name][last name][some random numbers] sound too boring?

I’ve been working in IT for a few years but am looking for a new job and want a more professional email. My current one has my birth year and everything I’ve read says that can be a red flag for employers. I’ve tried creating a new one using every variation of first, middle, and last name. I’ve used periods and various orientations of initials. I was able to find a few that were accepted.

(First name.middle name. Last name)

(First initial. Middle name, last name)

(First name,middle initial,last name.tech)

I’m just worried that those would be too long. Would any of those work well for a professional email. If not, do you have suggestions?

I also wonder if I might have better luck with a different email platform. Aside from Gmail, is there a different one I could use that wouldn’t throw up red flags to employers?

Edit: Oh my god, the response to this is truly incredible and I really appreciate all the advice. I’m still going through the comments but a common piece of advice is to get a domain. This is good advice and something I should certainly do at some point, especially working in IT. But a big part of the reason I’m looking for a new job is that money is extremely tight. I know it would only be like $20/year but we’re trying to avoid any extra spending, no matter how minor. For right now, purchasing a domain would probably be more of a last resort.

Hello,

I’m going to start applying for jobs soon. I need a professional email address, however, I have a double-barreled surname so I’m not sure how best to create the account.

Assume the name is ‘John Doe-Smith’ how would you do it. Would like a few examples if possible, thank you!

I’m wondering if this is a complete amateur question but is a gmail.com email address ok to use for as a first time self publishing author?

It’s just my full name with no silly extras but for correspondence with editors etc is it worth paying the monthly subscription to get a domain email?

Then I’m thinking about for mailing lists is it worth it?

I’d rather not the extra monthly expense if it’s not something people generally notice/care about but I don’t want to appear unprofessional.

Thanks :)

Hi, my name is fairly common in the UK, and I’m looking for advice on how to get a clean, professional looking email address. Ideally, it would work with Gmail, as that’s where I manage my other accounts.

I’m open to using a small email provider or setting up a custom domain as long as it looks conventional without any numbers, like [email protected] or [email protected]. I recently secured lastname.am, but the less common TLD makes it look a bit weird and scammy.

If anyone knows of small email providers where my name might still be available or has suggestions for other ideas, I’d love to hear them please. I do have a budget of around £150/$185 but flexible and I’m willing to pay for google workspace.

Thanks!

Hey,

I'm creating a new email address for professional reasons and personal. My current address was made when i was 14 and as you can probably guess, it's not very appropriate for a professional atmosphere.

Long story short, I apperantly have a common name because all variants of my first, middle and last name are taken. The only one available is [email protected] but with a letter removed from my middle name. Example - [email protected] (instead of [email protected]).

Would this be a bad idea? Looked down upon by potential employers?

Any help would be really appreciated.

This is a bit different than normal submissions on this subreddit, but I wouldn't know a better subreddit to post this.

Lets say your name is John Smith. My email address is [email protected], which I'm perfectly happy with. I'm wondering if [email protected] would be better or worse when applying to a job for example. Now, the website smith.com is not available, and I think a variation would only look unprofessional.

If you just want a general gmail address, I'm wondering what would be the best if [email protected] isn't available. Would you put an underscore between john and smith, or would you put a number behind it? Both look quite unprofessional to me.

is [email protected] a good professional email address? also, its twenty characters long excluding the gmail, is that okay?

I am firmly determined on using Gmail, but the name is common and all name and number combinations with one or two digits are taken.

[email protected] is the only form that is unique and not taken, but it sounds excessively egotistical in my opinion. Will it come across that way if I use it for professional purposes?

I am not interested in purchasing a domain either.

No matter how qualified you are, [email protected] will get your resume shitcanned immediately. Even cutesy clever addresses, that don't make me think I'm going to get a visit from HR, are iffy. [email protected] or some version of that is best.

I need a new email address as the one I have, while it is professional with my name, is kinda long at 27 characters. Plus it's with Outlook and I want to switch to Gmail. However it seems all the combinations for my name is taken. Without adding in numbers as I'd like to avoid that. I've tried first initial middle initial last name. First name last name. First name middle initial last name. First name middle initial last initial. First name middle name last name. Can't think of anything else to do. What suggestions do you have?

I'm very much regretting my email address choices when I was younger and need to make a professional email address for job applications. Unfortunately, both my first and last names are extremely common so [email protected] or [email protected] aren't going to be available. I've read that underscores, dashes or really any other characters/numbers come across as unprofessional but would adding a simple number like 40 or 90 after firstnamelastname be acceptable?

Hello Everyone,

I am currently trying to think of a professional Gmail email address using my name; currently all the combinations I can come up seem to be taken.

Can anyone from the Reddit community think of any ideas?

I have currently attempted:

• [email protected]

• [email protected]

• [email protected]

• [email protected]

• [email protected]

Note:

• Gmail ignores periods and capitalization in usernames

• Gmail only allows letters (a-z), numbers, and periods

I am trying to make a gmail account, but the combinations of my name are taken. I’d like to avoid using my full first name (it’s quite feminine and I’m going into a male dominated industry, so I’d like to avoid people judging me or whatever) and any refrences to places or careers (because they’re subject to change). Does putting “the” in front look unprofessional (like “the(firstinitial)(middleinitial)(lastname)@mailservice.com)? What does look professional in an e-mail name? Thanks

Edit: I’m mostly looking for words I can add to my name that still sound professional. One person has suggested “email”, and I’ve been considering “i.am” or something like that.

My name is long and has silent letters, so does my last name.

I work in an specific field, but it uses a different word in different languages and I may end up working for companies of different countries. (This makes me sound successful, I'm not, but I'm hopeful I'll be someday)
I wish I had an email address that was easy to write, read and share.

How can I make a professional email address that checks all my boxes? (I know most companies give you a new email address, but I need an email to get a job first).