Professional Email Signatures That Win

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According to the Telegraph, 32 emails are sent per person in Britain every day. That’s 32 times a day you are making an impression on someone. Use it well. One way to utilize the nearly 12,000 emails you send in a year is to have a proper signature. Not only do signatures tell the recipient who you are, but also how to contact you.  That being said, a proper signature should include:

• Full name
• Organization and title
• Phone number
• E-mail address
• Link to organization
• Special awards, distinctions, or tag line
• Legal information

Most of it is fairly self-explanatory (if not, please comment), except for the e-mail address. You should include your email address in case an email you sent is forwarded on and the header is deleted or missing. This will ensure that the new recipient has your email address.

When formatting your signature, make sure to use a consistent font and color and to keep your name on one line.

Make sure not to include unprofessional items, hard to read text, and don’t use any images. If you use HTML, you’re also running the risk of it not being displayed properly, because not everyone has HTML email capabilities. However, I use HTML in mine.

Other words of advice:

• Keep it a signature. Make sure it stays a signature and not an advertisement.
• Don’t sign twice. If you’re going to use a signature, make sure you don’t also write your name at the end of the email. It’s really silly to see an email signed twice.

Bonus:

I put out the call on my Twitter (see Career Fire’s Twitter here) for people to send me their signatures so I could include some real ones. Had a great response and here are a few of them:

Related posts:

1. WiseStamp: Email Signatures Made Easy
2. Your Email Signature
3. Professional Dress for Men
4. Guide to Professional Attire for Women
5. College Resume Checklist

Tagged as: Communication, email, email signature