8 Things Employers Want to See in An Email Signature

October 13, 2008 by RJ Sherman
Filed under: All, Brand-Yourself.com, Careers, College, Personal Branding, Skills, Web Identity 

One of the easiest ways to strengthen your communication with a potential employer is to add a brand-building signature to the bottom or your email.

Having a professional email signature is very important.  There is no hard and fast rule for what to include in an email signature because it will vary from person to person. It mainly depends on where you are in your academic or professional career. However, many people ask us what they should put in their email signature, so here are some sound guidelines.  Here are some steps to take concerning how to create an email signature and the information to include to make sure that you have a professional email signature.

Items to include in an email signature as a student:

  1. Full name. All signatures need to start off with the same thing: your name. No matter what type of signature you are creating, put your name at the top. You may want to make it bold so it stands out.
  2. Email address. Why include your email address? People look to your signature to find out how to contact you, so make it easy for them. Including your email address also helps when someone forwards your to someone in another department, because it immediately associates your name with your email address without having to search through the email header.
  3. Major. Including your majors is optional but recommended because it strengthens the association between your name and your area of expertise. Keep it simple: one major per line keeps things tidy and easy to read.
  4. School. Even if you use your given academic email address, it is not always clear where you go to school. Include your full school name for clarification.
  5. Year of graduation. Keep things simple by putting this on the same line as your school. Choose whichever format you prefer: 20XX or ‘XX.
  6. Phone number. We suggest including your phone number based on our experience. A job applicant who is not afraid to be contacted in person is regarded more highly than one who hides behind an email address. Most people will not call it, but it shows you are the type of person who can be reached and is confident enough to encourage it. Remember: if you include your number, record a professional message in case you don’t pick up. Your phone message is not the time to be funny when it comes to courting potential employers - speak clearly, confidently and concisely.
  7. Website. If you have a website where you can display your work, include the address. This is a great way to differentiate yourself and prove why you’re the best candidate.
  8. Title. If you are club officer on campus, don’t be afraid to include your official title. This lends credibility to your name and drives home the point with every email interaction that you take an active leadership role at school.

If you are not a student, consider including the following:

  1. Position at your company
  2. Company name
  3. Company website

Think of your signature as a quick snapshot of your bio. It is important to make sure that you have a professional email signature that will convey the correct professional image. A person will look to your signature after the communication to contact you. You want the most efficient ways of communication listed there. If you use Outlook, here is how to create an email signature in Outlook. An email signature is a truly effective way to bring together many elements of your brand - do not ignore it.

RJ Sherman
Author: RJ Sherman


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Comments

5 Comments on 8 Things Employers Want to See in An Email Signature

  1. Rachel M. Esterline .:. A Step Ahead on Sat, 31st Jan 2009 12:22 am

    2. I think these are great tips, but it also depends on the situation. I used to have a lot of information following my e-mails as part of my signature.

    I’ve now opted to shorten it to my name, phone numbers, Web site address and blog address. If people are interested in more information, then they will go to my site to learn more.

    This system is also editable. I can quickly add in a title, like “Account Executive” if I am writing an e-mail to a client. It keeps it professional without overwhelming them with personal information.

  2. Samuel on Mon, 16th Mar 2009 1:45 pm

    3. Maybe add information on your blogs, twitter, social networking etc.

  3. Chris Perry on Tue, 5th May 2009 8:09 pm

    4. I agree with RJ on all of these points. As an MBA student, this was one of the first things I did to make my outgoing communications look more professional and confident, because it really does.

    I even used this format as a student to make everything look nice together:

    Chris Perry | MBA Class of 2009
    Mason School of Business | College of William & Mary
    christopher.perry@mason.wm.edu | Cell: 804.304.9223

    But this can be changed to fit a professional in an organization and can be tailored to incorporate links and blogs etc.

  4. Joel Schaefer on Tue, 12th May 2009 1:54 pm

    5. I think that these all are great.

    If however, you are doing many outbound emails I prefer to have a more professional business card look that creates the feeling of connection.

    One major problem is that you are just a face in the crowd. Actually not even that you are just words on a screen.

    So how do you stand out.

    This is all dependent on the audience that you are trying to reaching.

    I have been in outside sales for quite a few years and your first impressions are usually the only ones that you get to make a difference.

    This is what I have been using as my email signature and have had great feedback.

    Of course with some editing to not put forth my current phone number and company information.

    Hope this shows on this page if not here is the link to my email signature.

    http://1unv.com/iizbpc/c.map

  5. How To Write Thank You Notes | Brand-Yourself.com Blog on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 12:46 pm

    6. [...] 8 Things Employers Want to See in Your Professional Email Signature [...]

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