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Question regarding jobs and non-company email addresses

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by kingkroz1017, Jul 2, 2010.

  1. kingkroz1017

    kingkroz1017 New Member

    I recently had a friend that received an email from someone that said they were an editor at a small-town paper. This email explained the job, listed pay, etc., seemed like a decent gig, but it requested that the reply (clips, resume, etc.) be send to an email account from a major webmail provider. My friend decided they weren't interested, but passed my name along. Being naturally cautious, I didn't reply to the email, but went to the paper in questions website and emailed the person directly and they replied and again told me to email the major webmail provider address. I figured that was a confirmation that it was valid, but still struck me as odd that they would not use the company email address. Anyways, I didn't apply for it and now a few weeks later I got another email from that person (with a different name listed in the headers, although the email itself was signed as being from the same person) and told me that if I was still interested to email a different major webmail provider address. Am I being too cautious about this not being a legit offer? The initial email to my friend was wholly unsolicted, along with the fact that the person doesn't use the company email address. Even if it is legit, what are your thoughts on an editor using a major webmail provider address to do the contact? Strikes me as quite odd.

    (I've left this as generic as possible to not target the paper directly, just curious on what others think).
     
  2. Tim Stephens

    Tim Stephens Member

    When I post a job -- as I have done here multiple times -- I always ask that job correspondence go to a non-company address. There are many reasons, but the most notable are:

    1) It saves me a lot of time and allows me to better sort and reply to the correspondence.
    2) It ensures your stuff won't get deleted or forwarded accidentally amid the 200-500 other emails I get a day.
     
  3. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    They may not want to open attachments with the company email one.

    A web-based email would be able to check for viruses before opening it.
     
  4. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    What would be the scam? Attempting to steal from an unemployed journalist? Brilliant.
     
  5. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    I can tell you Gmail offers much more space and storage than my company e-mail, and up until recently, Gmail didn't put a cap on the size of messages and attachments. That's a huge plus.
     
  6. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    I've had my own non-company email address for work since the first company addy I had died, causing me to miss several important messages.

    Ever since, I've always stuck with my non-company addy -- and, in that time, the company has been through four different mail servers.
     
  7. kingkroz1017

    kingkroz1017 New Member

    Thanks guys, I guess I'm just paranoid of the web sometimes... the input is much appreciated.
     
  8. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    Yeah, I wouldn't sweat it.
     
  9. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    Damn good point. My work email fills up far too quickly, whereas my Yahoo account has a huge storage capacity.
     
  10. apeman33

    apeman33 Well-Known Member

    Our servers seem to be hyper-sensitve to spam. I've had messages from people who have been sending me stuff for years suddenly end up in the spam catcher for no good reason. So with that and the fact that I'm getting about 50 e-mails a day at the two company addresses right now, I'd rather have it sent to my (bigemail).com box. At least then, I'll be able to find it and I know it will get to me.
     
  11. joe_schmoe

    joe_schmoe Active Member

    Yeah, a lot of company sites don't handle attachments well. I hate it when we get photos emailed here because they are slow to download and slow the computer.
    In addition, the person may not have the ability to check his company email outside the office, and may want to sort through resumes at home, so its easier if they are emailed there (he may also have better software for reading attachments at home if he doesn't want to print them).
    And finally in addition to getting a a lot of spam, lack of storage space and not being able to check for viruses, the company email server may be notoriously slow. I interviewed a subject Friday for a piece I did on Sunday. Friday afternoon, he called to say he just emailed me some more info. I just got it this morning.
     
  12. copperpot

    copperpot Well-Known Member

    I can view docx and other attachments in gmail without having to download them, a huge timesaver. Also, remotely accessing my work address is hit and miss, whereas I can get on my Yahoo or gmail accounts all the time.
     
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