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I am preparing job application materials (cover letter, CV) and my e-mail address [email protected] doesn't quite fit the design. It forces me to either break it up into two lines or to enlarge the side panel, both of which I'd like to avoid.

My e-mail provider allows me to register several aliases. I already registered [email protected] and [email protected]. So, as a way around my above problem, I'd like to replace my e-mail address with [email protected], i.e., the e-mail address that only contains the first letter of my first name and the full last name.

My question: Does this e-mail address still look professional?

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  • If it almost fits, can you tweak the font settings on the email address to make it slightly narrower or reduce the kerning (spacing between characters), while still being readable?
    – gidds
    Commented Sep 1 at 8:04
  • I certainly could do that, but wouldn't that break the consistency of the materials? As far as I know, consistency demonstrates carefulness and professionalism.
    – Bird Saurus
    Commented Sep 1 at 12:59

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Anyone who sees that your email address is "[email protected]" is going to assume that it is formed according to some rules over which you have no control.

As long your email address (or online handle, or domain name) doesn't look like it would raise an eyebrow at any serious company or institution, nobody is really going to pay any attention to its form or spelling.

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    I've been using my entirely synthetic nickname as my user ID for decades. Occasionally somebody will ask about it, but really, nobody cares as long as the user ID is not something offensive.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 1 at 6:29
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    Add to not offsensive, not obviously goofy or juvenile.
    – DogBoy37
    Commented Sep 1 at 11:31
  • @keshlam do you mean something like [email protected]? Have you successfully used it in job applications or similar professional contexts as well?
    – Bird Saurus
    Commented Sep 1 at 12:57
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    I certainly know people who have used similarly obscure IDs in professional contexts. Mine is more pronounceable,/recognizable/memorizable than that, and that would be my own preference. Think if it was a nickname rather than a formal signature.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 1 at 15:16
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I am preparing job application materials (cover letter, CV) and my e-mail address [email protected] doesn't quite fit the design. It forces me to either break it up into two lines or to enlarge the side panel, both of which I'd like to avoid.

Yes avoid having an email address that has to be spread over two lines.

My e-mail provider allows me to register several aliases. I already registered [email protected] and [email protected]. So, as a way around my above problem, I'd like to replace my e-mail address with [email protected], i.e., the e-mail address that only contains the first letter of my first name and the full last name.

While an alias will work, it can cause issues if somebody sends an email to the alias, but your system sends the response from the main address. Some people and systems can be confused by this.

Unless the position requires you to be responsible for creating interesting and technical designs, you might be overthinking the design of the CV and cover letter.

Now if the firstname.lastname email address is very long and it won't fit into a box that is a concern. If the address can be hard to type with 0's O's 1's and l's you might want to change it.

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  • Thanks for the suggestion regarding the alias. I'd better check that! Regarding the design, I hope a well designed, visually distinct layout could differentiate my a little more from other applicants. I see it as a tool to at least get the hiring manager's attention for a second, if I'm lucky.
    – Bird Saurus
    Commented Sep 1 at 12:56
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    These days, many resumes are machine scored before a human ever sees them. Unless you are applying for a graphic design job, fancy layout really has very little impact, and tends to take up more space on page. Keep it comfortably human readable, but beyond that formatting does not matter as much as it used to.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 1 at 15:17
  • @keshlam Yea, good point. I was probably overthinking this...
    – Bird Saurus
    Commented Sep 2 at 13:57
  • Regarding the email alias, it worked in my case, the response was sent correctly. But there's a catch with Thunderbird: it only works if I also add my alias to my accounts as well. Otherwise, Thunderbird sets the alias as the receiver of the e-mail, so I would send it to myself by accident.
    – Bird Saurus
    Commented Sep 2 at 14:00

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