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Does name and dob combinations best suits for email addresses in professional world? (ex: [email protected])

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    When the spambots pick up your email address (as they will), having a real date of birth as well could be a security hole...
    – Fiora the Ferret
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:52
  • @JuliaHayward and age discrimination too, if it looks like a year thrown in there.
    – Old_Lamplighter
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:59

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If you are that bothered about how your email address looks, then you need to invest in your own domain name (which can be had for as little as $10 a year), and then invest in a mail host (can be has for as little as a few dollars a month) or use your domain registrars tools to forward all mail to your '[email protected]' address.

Or just stay away from offensive words and childish language in your email address and you will be fine - recruiters and hiring managers understand that email addresses are a premium commodity for places like Hotmail or Gmail, and we generally don't look twice at your address unless you have obvious abusive language in it...

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  • +1 for own domain name - the OP seems to want to appear more professional and if all the combinations of their name is not available I imagine they must be using a popular free email account (hotmail, gmail, yahoo or something) which doesn't look anywhere near as good on a business card as having one's own domain.
    – komodosp
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:57
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    The only thing I would ad is that it's unnecessary to invest in a mail host unless you really want to. I use google for applications for my 2 domains for years and it hasn't cost me a dime.
    – Chris E
    Jul 29, 2016 at 14:04
  • @ChristopherEstep problem is, Google Apps for Work stopped being "free" for new accounts a couple of years ago - I also have it for three domains, but cant open a new account because it now costs per user.
    – user34687
    Jul 29, 2016 at 14:10
  • Well that blows. At least at explains why I can keep using it for my 2 then.
    – Chris E
    Jul 29, 2016 at 14:12
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Why include a date? Is it relevant to your personal brand? I think most people would simply find it confusing.

I would simply include my first and last name:

Plus, of course, all the last/first combinations.

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  • all such combinations are not available and also adding any random number will not be good enough according to me. Can you please rate the sample address mentioned above in the question?
    – Lakshya
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:39
  • I don't agree with the last suggestion. Having a number in the email address is very unprofessional. I also haven't seen underscores used as a general practice so I would avoid it. If all other possibilities are exhausted, rather use an initial instead of a full name. For example, [email protected]
    – bitshift
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:39
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    Get your own domain - they are very cheap. I pay $15 a year for mail hosting. Then you can guarantee your first name/last name combination will be available.
    – Laconic Droid
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:42
  • @Lakshya Using your date of birth as your email may as well be a random number, nobody is going to immediately associate that with you. I'm surprised that all of those combinations are unavailable. Even [email protected]? firstnamelastinitial?firstname.middleinitial.lastname? It seems unlikely that your exact name would be so common in your workplace.
    – Jane S
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:44
  • What do you mean by professional? Are you looking to have a consulting business or something to include on your resume?
    – JasonJ
    Jul 29, 2016 at 13:46
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The rule is make it professional and easy to remember.

Avoid:

  1. Anything risqué
  2. Any reference to politics iHateDemocrats@xyz.com might slam a good deal many doors for you, for example.
  3. Any reference to hobbies ([email protected] is going to offend anyone who does not like hunting, for example)
  4. Anything hard to remember [email protected] is not going to work out well
  5. Anything strange (see above example)
  6. Anything trite ([email protected] is going to be dismissed as unprofessional)
  7. Dates as they may set you up for identity theft or age discrimination

Choose:

  1. Something Brief
  2. Something meaningful
  3. something WITHOUT numbers, if possible. There are so many spam accounts out there that have numbers in them, as they are generated by scripts, that people have a visceral reaction to them, and may even have spam filters to kick them out. Yes, really.
  4. Elements of your name. john.smith or john_smith or john_smith_JS
  5. Your City and/or state if you have a common name [email protected]
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