Professionalism goes beyond a great resume and neat appearance for the job interview. Think about a recruiter’s first interaction with you. What does your email address or your voice mail message say about you and your professionalism?
Voice Greetings
Are your voice greetings professional and tastefully done, understandable and clear? OR, do you have your cute three year old speaking the message? Who can understand him/her besides you? Do you have background music playing that may be offensive or in poor taste, played too loudly and drowning out your message? Remember your cell phone voice mail as well, if you are using that as your main phone contact number! As a recruiter, if I got a voice mail message that I could not understand, or was in poor taste, I hung up, without leaving a message to call me regarding my job opening. They may have looked like the best candidate for the job on paper, but the impression their voice mail message gave, was the opposite.
Email Addresses
Do not forget the email address. Anyone can get a free Google mail, hotmail, Yahoo etc., account. Your email address should be professional and tasteful, not something risqué, politically incorrect or lacking in common sense. (iamadormable@myfanclub.com does not cut it!) As a recruiter, if I had to ask myself “Why on earth would anyone use that email address for their job search?” I would discount them as a viable candidate to interview. Why you ask? Sounds harsh, but that is the chance you take when you send out your resume. Leave ihavedimples@cutecheeks.com off of everything in favor of a more neutral email address like your.name@whateveremailaccount.com!
If the message or email address were not professional, then it left me with a bad impression. It told me the person lacked common sense, or was not serious about their job search, nor respectful of the potential employer.
Being fully professional with all written and audio information is essential. Get the job – then revert to your old messages with the cute kid giving the message, or an email address that harkens to your playful side.
Photo by iStockPhoto © Jacob Wackerhausen
