Your E-mail Address and Cell Phone Voicemail: Are They Keeping You From Getting Hired?

Providing an e-mail address has now become as vital as providing a phone number, with the majority of Americans having high-speed internet access on a home computer and on a cellular phone.  As smartphones have become more common (1 in 2 Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas, 2011), the ability to effectively communicate through e-mail has become part of the hiring process.

At Caregiverlist’s recent “Care for the Caregiver” Day in Chicago, senior home care agency owners shared some of the items they look for when prescreening a candidate for a senior caregiving job. 

A professional e-mail address and an appropriate cell phone message were both mentioned as important factors in judging the character and dependability of a potential job applicant.

Remember, a potential employer does not yet know you and is using the information they obtain in your job application along with your behavior when then call you for an interview to decide if you will be a dependable, caring and professional employee.

Recruiters mentioned that calling a caregiving job candidate and hearing them give a voice message on their cell phone that sounded more like an invitation to come spend the night or an e-mail address with words such as “hot”, “juicy”, “party” or “sugar” in them raise concerns.  If someone does not have good judgment to realize that a potential employer is not a potential date, then this is an indication of poor decision-making skill.

Cell phone messages that have a groovy song playing or say something sexually suggestive should be removed when you are applying for a job.

As the owner of a senior home care agency, ongoing our recruiter would tell us about a shocking cell phone voice message a potential job candidate had and we would have to call the number to believe it.  One time, a candidate had a message which completely trashed the current girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend.  You can imagine (perhaps) how shocking it is to call a job candidate and hear something like this, instead of hearing a professional message that they are not available and to leave a message.

Also, make sure your cell phone message does not have noise in the background.  Remove music and make sure no children are crying or yelling while you are recording the message.

Regarding your e-mail address:  Google mail, or G-mail, is free and you can easily create a new e-mail address using your name and numbers in the address in order to appear professional.  Don’t use a nickname from high-school or from your boyfriend or girlfriend.  You can also have a Google e-mail address forwarded to a current e-mail address to allow you to easily manage all of your e-mails in one place while also staying professional for employers.

The recruiters said they often did not move forward with job candidates who had inappropriate cell phone messages and e-mail addresses as this also made the question if they would know how to professionally communicate with senior clients.

Caregiver Employment Checklist:

 1)      Create a professional voicemail on your cell phone.  No music or noise in the background.

Example:  Hi, you have reached Sally Smith’s cell phone.  I am sorry to miss your call.  Please leave a message and when a good time would be to return your call.  I look forward to talking with you.  Thank you.

 2)  Create a professional e-mail address using your name only and adding numbers if necessary. 

Example:  sallysmith65 @ gmail.com