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Job-hunting in this economy is hard enough without hurting yourself from the get-go.

I got an e-mail recently from someone who was having trouble for several reasons. But the likelihood of an employer paying attention to him as an applicant probably stopped with his e-mail address.

It contained the word “insanity.”

C’mon, folks. Consider the signals you’re sending in a digital world.

A CareerBuilder report this year listed some other major applicant gaffes reported by hirers. Needless to say, the candidate whose e-mail address included “lovesbeer” wasn’t pursued.

This may be the ABCs of job hunting, but it obviously bears repeating: Job seekers must appear as professional, as serious and as responsible as possible.

That CareerBuilder account of mistakes included some doozies, such as the applicant who put a picture of a cat at the top of her resume.

You want to stand out from the crowd, yes. But you don’t want to stand out for the wrong reasons.

One job candidate listed “God” as a reference. Another called himself “the LeBron James of table games.” Another asked if he would be allowed to bring his pet monkey to work.

Most job hunters should aim to present a one-page resume that is easy to read. Don’t mess with fancy type, emoticons or illustrations.

Use bullet points or boldface highlighting to focus on your accomplishments and experience that are relevant to business.

Your resume can include volunteer work or professional association memberships, but it shouldn’t include your hobbies, your family information or anything too personal.

About half of more than 2,500 hirers surveyed by CareerBuilder said they give a serious look at 25 or fewer resumes per job opening. About two in five of them said they spend less than a minute reviewing each resume, and about one in five spends less than 30 seconds.

Is there any doubt that your e-mail address and basic resume appearance count?

by Diane Stafford. She is the workplace and careers columnist at The Kansas City Star.