I use Proton Mail primarily but I have an Outlook account because I fear rejection for using an email provider many are not familiar with. Additionally, 90% of my generation uses Gmail, so I’ll be the odd one out when my resume has a proton.me email address.
I’d like the opinion of a professional here, is there any potential drawback to using proton.me on job applications and my resume?
On a side note, can I use my Outlook account as a spam account? I give out this email to places like rewards programs and mailing lists. Places I don’t want with my email address but am forced to give it? Can my spam emails reveal anything about my whereabouts?
Responding to your first question: Personally, I don’t think it’s unprofessional, but I think your own custom domain that you link to your Proton account (ex. hello@percluhrate.com) would be the most professional option At least in my opinion. What’s ‘professional’ will vary
I can say for certain, you won’t be the odd one out. Proton is getting more and more popular, and in fact is a minor distinguishing point. You want to stand out, during an interview, not blend in. Proton is big enough to be recognised as a valid option, while still being small enough to stand out.
Professional what? As in, helped during the recruitment process, or just been hired. Either way, I don’t think it really matters.
Can you? Yes. It’s also somewhat a decent idea. Though, just remember all that could still be tied to you. Just be careful what information MicroSoft has tied to that Outlook account, and what information you give to spammers. Just imagine all those little spammers talking to each other, about what they know about you. I definitely wouldn’t use it for job applications and spammers. That’s a lot of information, they could potentially have.
Yes. Most official emails are HTML based. Meaning you have similar risks of loading up a website. They can get your IP, trigger a script, and so on. If possible, use your email services Inbox, within a browser. It’ll have more protections in place. A VPN/proxy would also help.
I’d like to hear your opinion on my remarks as well.
Here’s a potential issue: If you use proton mail for your bank and insurance email, you probably don’t want this email address on resumes and online job posting sites. My professional email account (Gmail) accumulates lots of spam from recruiters and other spam. This is because believe it or not, your professional email address becomes publicly available over the course of your entire career. I don’t like having spam mail in my proton mail mixed in with mail from my bank and insurance. I can’t say much about how professional proton.me is, but I suggest keeping your job search/resume email account separate from the email account you use for sensitive information (probably Proton Mail).
On the topic of spam, I set up a SimpleLogin account, I give out alias emails to places who will probably spam me. In my Proton Mail account, I set up a filter to put all emails from my SimpleLogin aliases into a specific folder. This way, my primary inbox is not bombarded with spam and I don’t miss important emails. And my spam emails are not in my Gmail to be read by Google. They are in a separate folder in my Proton Mail which I check occasionally.
I’ve seen this question so many times and I’m not really sure where people get the idea of proton domains being less professional than gmail domains comes from. Yes, it’s alright and not that big a deal.
The domain aside, ironically proton’s UI has always come off as muted and professional by default and Gmail’s as bright, colorful and childish. (doesn’t really even matter just an observation).
At least in my opinion. What’s ‘professional’ will vary