Trying to sort through a long list of job candidates? Entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan suggests using the email domain applicants use to help narrow down the field.
In an interview with BRW, Kogan suggests that people using Gmail will jump to the front of the queue when vacancies at Kogan are being assessed:
Kogan only considers CVs that come via Gmail, reasoning most tech-savvy people want Gmail’s functionality and speed. “We want people who are passionate about technology and using technology, not scared of change,” he says. “It might not be 100 per cent accurate but when you have one position and 250 applications you need to look at ways of doing things.”
In a subsequent Twitter comment, Kogan also suggested that anyone using their own domain was also demonstrating technical savvy. It’s a reminder that something as simple as your email address can influence your chances when applying for a job.
Comments
28 responses to “The Kogan Principle: Pick Job Candidates Based On Their Email Domain”
I wouldn’t think Gmail would be indicative of technical ability. When you get an Android device, signing in to Google when you don’t have an existing email means you get a Gmail.
No, in this case I think The Oatmeal is still correct: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/email_address
Though you should totally trust me with my @mailinator.com account because I’m tech savvy like that.
What’s wrong with Outlook.com ?
It doesn’t even have half the functionality that you get with gmail. Once you start playing around with Google Docs macros you can do pretty much anything.
I have my own domain, so I guess I wouldn’t be geeky enough for Kogan? Makes me glad I have it now. 🙂
Same here, have a grandfathered domains.outlook.com account running my own domain. Plus outlook.com is actually a better service than Gmail these days. The old days of awful Hotmail and great gmail are long gone.
Clearly you are a noob and if you want a job working for a pinnacle technology company like, ahem, Kogan, you need to geek up and get on gmail!
They probably share everything on google docs and it’s their way of screening candidates who they can set up with minimal effort :p
You’re hired! 😀
“In a subsequent Twitter comment, Kogan also suggested that anyone using their own domain was also demonstrating technical savvy.”
Bugger! Will need to ditch the domain. You know, just in case.
Pop quiz, hot shot… what if your own domain runs Google Web Apps including Gmail? What do you do then? WHAT DO YOU DO?!
I have hotmail accounts and gmail accounts and I access them all through my iPhone when I’m mobile and Outlook when I’m on PC.
So this principle is pointless.
Having the right domain attached to your email can increase your chances of getting employment. So i guess its not pointless.
Whoever is doing the hiring dictates what is and isn’t pointless.
My point is that having a gmail address doesn’t indicate how tech savvy you are, or whether you appreciate a certain type of functionality. You could still be a complete bonehead.
‘most tech-savvy people want Gmail’s functionality and speed’
0_o How is Googles functionality and speed any better than Outlook? Or O365 via your own domain? or using your own Domain via Google…
Im sorry Kogan but your abit out of touch with technology if that’s what you base ‘using Gmail’ for :/
But hey, im just a guy who runs his own domain for my email services instead of using a public Gmail account… So what would I know about tech… /s
Edit: Reading he sees his tweet still points me back to ‘how google is better than systems like Outlook’ for example to offer ‘speed and functionality’
I’m going to apply for a job, give a clear demonstration of how tech-savvy I am with plenty of things to back it up etc, then send it from something like “[email protected]”, bring it Kogan.
To be fair if there was plenty of people looking for the job I wouldn’t respond to that email address. Call it email discrimination 🙂
I refuse to keep up with technology so I pay a small homeless child three pennies to run across town and delver my messages………
Homeless cats my friend – that is what you want. Cheaper to send. If you want a read receipt send a homeless dog after it.
There s probably some truth in in, my clients using Hotmail, yahoo ( or even worst AOL) are the most clueless ( & we are not in IT).
What if I still use that shitty email address from when I was 12 because gmail wasn’t out then. QQ
There is upgrade paths for your old email address to ‘modernise’ it 🙂 (That is for Hotmail type accounts there is)
I have my original [email protected] but also [email protected] in the same account etc.
So do I double my suitability thanks to using my own email domain that is managed through Google Apps?
I’ve got a @hotmail.com address, because I’ve had that account since before Microsoft owned hotmail. I’m not about to change my email address because of domain discrimination. There’s no technical reason for me to change it, it performs the task I require very well. The actual process of changing an email address I’ve had for over 15 years is utterly ridiculous, and completely unnecessary.
I suppose it’s good to know that Kogan bases his opinions of potential recruits on superficial things, instead of actual abilities. I’ll just avoid that company when selecting jobs to apply for.
I’m sure it’s just one of a multitude of factors they use to filter out candidates – you need some easy techniques to review hundreds of CV’s. Especially those people whose CV is 3+ pages long and explains their responsibilities as a paper boy/girl! Anyways, in the context of a technical job, as long as they don’t have an AOL email address they should be good. However, the CV better have their twitter and LinkedIn links to demonstrate how “tech” they are! 😉
I imagine it helps if your address is not ‘hotbuns69’ as well 😉
Might be fine for krogan, i’ve had a lot of jobs and websites not accept gmail addresses though.
What an absurd policy – whatever his preferred email domain.
The fact he prefers an advertising company’s mail service says a lot about Kogan
Of course, now he’s made this public, his primary filter criterion is out the window.
He may actually need to discriminate based on ability, now.
Yahoo has disposable email addresses. It is what keeps me there. Also they very rarely change their interface, while it seems like every time I login to my gmail account they are telling me about some new feature or layout advancement and I have to figure out how it works all over again