One of the things I look forward to when receiving emails from people is their signature. I always read it after their email to get a feel for the person that I’m communicating with. That is why I chose this topic for this week. This article will focus on email signatures, why I advise that you need them, and how you can make yours perfect for whatever you may be using it for.
Presently, I have two email signatures. One for school, and one for professional work (as I’m a part-time motorsports journalist). The first one that I’m going to focus on is your school email signature.
By all means, you can use this for high school emails if you’re involved with a ton of clubs and/or sports, and would like your teachers to know what you’re involved in, but I believe that the school email signature method should be used for college or any higher level of education you decide to do.
The school email signature method is pretty simple. You just want to explain who you are at the school and what you do there. For an example, I’ve included my St. Bonaventure University signature below:
Brooke Johnpier ’27
Her Campus – Contributor
TAPinto Greater Olean – Contributor
The Bona Venture (News, Features, and Sports) – Contributing Writer
WSBU (88.3 FM) The Buzz (Music, and Sports) – Article Writer
Treasurer – History Club
Editor – The Laurel
Broadcast Education Association member
Major: Sports Media
Minor: Native American and Indigenous Studies
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Contact: (716)-260-3763/johnpibl23@bonaventure.edu
“Always be yourself and don’t care about what other people think about you.”-myself
Let’s break my signature down so that it’s clearer when you go to create yours.
The first part I have is my first and last name (obviously) and my class year. Doing this allows the receiver of the email to learn that you are a real person and that you are actually a student of the university.
The second part I have is all of the clubs I’m a member of and what I do for each club. This can be optional but since I like people to know what I’m doing at school, I include it. Including this allows your receiver to get to know you better because you’re telling them your interests. They also get to know where your skills lay and if you’re in any leadership positions.
The third part I have is any clubs (outside of school) that I became a part of due to my studies. Once again, this is totally optional but I like letting my receiver know that I’m getting involved with other things due to what I’m doing on the campus.
The fourth part I have is my major and minor. I believe that this should be included in everyone’s higher education signature. It can be the only thing besides your name or it can come before everything else; whatever you want to do. I believe this needs to be a requirement in your signature because it allows the receiver to know what you’re specializing in. If you just have your name, how would they know that you’re majoring in Sports Media, or Journalism, or Psychology, or whatever your major is? Also, if you’re minoring, put it on there! You should be proud that you’re going above and beyond to learn more things. Make sure to let the receiver know that.
The fifth part I have is my pronouns. I’ve seen this put next to the name and that’s fine. I just prefer my stuff to be all in a neat little list, so that’s why I did mine like that, But it’s whatever you want to do, really. The reason why these should be included is because you don’t want to be mislabeled. My pronouns are she/her/hers. Since the career I’m going into is 99% men, I don’t want to be labeled a “him” when I’m a “her”.
The sixth part I have is my contact information. Please, no spam phone calls or emails. Anyway, the reason why I think you should include this is so your receiver knows exactly how to contact you. It also gives the receiver more than one way to contact you. Because some people like to hear someone’s voice instead of just going back and forth through the internet.
And lastly, the seventh part I have is a quote. I saw some of my high school teachers do this and I liked the way it looked. This is by no means a requirement of a signature, but I do this because it’s a quote that I created, I like it, and I believe that it gives the receiver a look into who they’re dealing with.
Now, the next email signature method I would like to talk about is the professional one. Once again, for an example, I have included mine:
Brooke Johnpier
Published Author and Motorsports Journalist
Website: lilacliberty.com/speedwayillustrated.com/raceproweekly.com
Cellphone: 716-260-3763
As you can see, it’s a lot smaller than my college signature. I also like my college signature better, but let’s break this one down so you can learn more about why I did what I did.
First part is obviously same as last time: my name. I did this because everyone should know the name of the person they’re communicating with.
Second part is what I’m doing for my professional work. Putting your job title or what you do allows your receiver to grasp what your specialty is and what it exactly is you do for a living. It will also let them know if they’re emailing the right person as well.
The third part is the websites of the companies I work for. This allows the receiver to research the companies that you work for, understand that they’re legit, and also get to know the types of companies that you like working for. It will allow them to get to know you.
And finally, the last part is my phone number. This gives the receiver your number and shows that you’re professional.
In conclusion, email signatures are important. They do a lot more than look pretty at the end of an email. They give people insight into your life, who you are, and what you stand for.