Email & Job Hunting

Interesting post this week about AOL's users whose legitimate job search email is getting blocked by the giant ISP. I thought I would re-post some helpful tips on avoiding your email being labeled as SPAM.

E-mail is slowly being killed as an effective way of communicating in today's society as unsolicited spam clogs corporate e-mail systems. Since most companies use spam filters to control unwanted e-mail, it's imperative that your e-mail be constructed to avoid being dumped.

· Avoid sending an e-mail to a large group of recipients. Your ISP may flag this usage as spam.
· Avoid numbers in your e-mail address. If possible, change your e-mail address to one without numbers or it may be seen as spam tracking code.
· Send e-mail as Plain Text. Creating colorful fonts and backgrounds in your e-mail program usually means it will be seen as HTML coding which may trigger spam filters.
· Avoid words like "Free" in the subject line.
· Do not send your résumé as an attachment unless told to by the employer. Just copy and paste your plain text résumé version into the body of the e-mail. You can always send a hard copy via U.S. Mail if needed.
· Avoid using punctuation such as exclamation marks in the subject line.