Here’s a quick (but crucial!) tip for you:
Take a look at the email address you use to send job applications – does it end in .ca or .com?
If it does, great! But if not, it may significantly decrease your chances of being considered for the position.
Why does it matter?
Of course, you know it’s important to have a professional-looking email address. You probably wouldn’t dream of emailing a recruiter from an address such as hellokitty123@aol.com or surferboy@hotmail.com (unless, perhaps, you’re applying for a Hello Kitty merchandiser position or as a surfing instructor – and even then!)
Yet, you may wonder what the harm is in using an address that ends in, say, .uk or .de, as opposed to .ca or .com.
Well, let’s consider the employer’s perspective for a moment. If you were hiring, and you received an application that appeared to come from abroad, what would most likely be going through your mind?
- Is this person legally allowed to work in Canada?
- What if there’s a change in their relocation plans, and they end up not coming to Vancouver?
- What if they decide they don’t like it here, and they leave after a few months? Do I want to go through the entire hiring process again?
Not exactly the first impression you were hoping to make, is it? :-/
We already know that newcomers have to work harder at convincing recruiters. Why risk raising a (potential) red flag right from the start, with an email address that shows your country of origin?
So take a few minutes to create a “neutral” address before reaching out to employers – either through a free email service such as Gmail or yahoo.ca, or via your local internet provider if you’re already in Canada.
Was this tip helpful? Do you need more personalized job search advice? Leave a question in the comments, or contact me to schedule a one-on-one consultation!
Emmanuelle
Image by Doubleaf, via Flickr Creative Commons
