You have a beautifully formatted resume on nice paper. You dress professionally for the interview. And the email address on your resume is pornstar69@(whatever).com.

Email nicknames that do not project a professional image:

• sexxxygirl
• sacktiger
• devotedtoChrist (it says too much about your personal beliefs - inappropriate for many workplaces)
• goody2shoes
• johnnybravo (if your name isn’t Johnny Bravo. A great cartoon, but not appropriate for the workplace)

It’s small details like this that can place you second or third in the job competition.

A cute, corny or, in some people’s minds, offensive email address can take away from the professional image you are trying to create in the hiring manager’s mind. Your email nickname can reveal quite a lot about you, and too much personal information is never a good thing when you are trying to get hired.

Advice: get a second email address based on your name. Email addresses and accounts are free; use a second account for professional correspondence. Check out Hotmail, gmail or Yahoo Mail for free accounts.

Use a variation on your name like:

• sarahsmith
• sarah.smith
• s.smith
• ssmith

and so on. It may be difficult to find a variation on a popular name, so try mixing a number in with it. Please avoid the number 69.

• sarahsmith23
• ssmith42

When you are job hunting, professionalism is very, very important. Make sure every element of your presentation, including your email address, lives up to the image.