New York, March 19 (IANS): An applicant's email address can greatly impact first impressions and affect one's chances of getting hired according to a new study.

Job recruiters may review hundreds of online resumes for a position, often screening them quickly and discarding those that are not appropriate.

"We all have unconscious biases, and first impressions, as we know, are often difficult to change," says Brenda K. Wiederhold, editor-in-chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking where the study appeared.

Researchers at VU University, Amsterdam, designed a study to determine whether the use of an informal rather than a more formal email address by a job applicant when sending an online resume affects how hireable the person would seem to a professional recruiter.

An informal email address includes slang, cute, or made-up names instead of the applicant's real name.

"This study may assist recruiters in becoming more conscious of their biases, as well as aiding job applicants in understanding the importance of their electronic identities," Wiederhold added.