Write for God

I am job searching with all the right tools: business suits in a dark color, a snappy resume and a list of networking contacts. One of my job coaches suggested that I was sabotaging myself by including my long-time email address on applications.

My address, you see, includes a three-letter word that my coach said would guarantee I would be ruled out by most employers. I had been using WriteforGod@hotmail.com, the same one I’ve had for years. Mentioning God, my job coach said, would prevent hiring managers from taking me seriously. I would have expected that reaction if my address had read Heil Hitler or advocated clubbing baby ducks instead of merely praising the Creator.

My email came from the Thomas Merton quote on this page’s header. No matter what I’m writing, I am doing it for God. If I were a bricklayer, my email would have read something like Lay Bricks for God.  The late comic Red Skelton always ended his shows with “and may God bless,” which he probably wouldn’t be allowed to do if he were on network TV today. Skelton once said, “If you have talent, that’s your gift from God. If you use that talent, that’s your gift to God.” When I write for God, I take the 10 gold coins of the parable in Luke 19  and multiply them before returning them to the Master. I do, indeed, write for God.

As an experiment, I decided to use another email account with my name instead of Write for God. Out of three applications I’ve sent with my generic email, two employers have replied with a call for clips or for more information, which is quite unlike my experience sending dozens of resumes and applications since late October. Most applications seem to have fallen in a black hole reserved for those experienced writer/editors who tell the world they’re Christians.

I have an outstanding resume, a stable job history, hundreds of writing clips and excellent references. None of that matters seems to matter as long as the email address on the contact information mentions a three-letter word employers would rather skip.

Several of the people in my networking groups have mentioned how much they like my email and how refreshing it is to see someone unashamed of the Gospel. Those are the rare Christians I’ve met on my job search. For now, I’m trying my generic, non-religious email on some applications. According to my job coach, job seeking is like taking on a role in a play and that doesn’t change who you really are inside. I’m not sure if I really believe that.

I don’t know know how long my experiment with a secular email for job searches will last, but the employer that hires me is going to be rewarded with a top-notch professional who loves to work and is reliable and creative. The ones that nixed my application just because of my email will be the only losers.

In a world where four-letter words are overused by all strata of society, and even by children, it’s interesting that the only word that shocks anyone anymore has three letters: God.