E-mail Signature Etiquette for Student Leaders
As a student leader, you use your e-mail a lot. If I go for five hours without checking my inbox between 8am and 5pm Monday through Friday, I usually have some hefty reading to catch up on.
Something to consider when conducting business online is your signature. Often times e-mail is the first medium in which you contact other student leaders, advisors, administrators, businesses and agents. As such, it’s important to put your best foot forward and present yourself professionally.
First things first: format
Some people opt for using an image or fiddling with the HTML because it allows you to create a designy sig. Although “totally cool!!” I’m going to recommend plain text left justified. Admittedly less totally cool, this is the preferred choice. According to NetM@nners.net , image and GIF files can be labeled as attachments, which means recipients will have to open a file just to see who the heck is contacting them. Leaders, don’t annoy your e-mail recipients–that is definitely not your best foot forward.
The problem with tinkering with the code? Lack of control across browsers and e-mail accounts. Your signature might look great on your computer but you don’t know how it will turn out elsewhere. Simple is always in, so play it safe and repeat after me: plain text left justified.
Don’t believe me? Then listen to Shelly Palmer, host of the daily Webcast MediaBytes:
Simplify!
The consensus on the modern signature is it shouldn’t be, to borrow a phrase from Teck.In, “the ‘About Me’ section.” The function of a signature is to identify yourself and let recipients know how to contact you, according to Teck.In.
Mitch Wagner of InformationWeek points out that the more important you are, the shorter your signature becomes. Do you think Bernie Machen would really need a descriptive signature if he sent you an e-mail? Eh, probably not. I think you would know who he is. Keep it to the necessary.
So what does that mean for you as a student leader? What you have to remember is you wear a lot of different hats, so you have different identities that are appropriate to use at different times.
I always include my full name and my phone number, but I change my identification line depending on who I’m e-mailing. So this is what my default signature looks like:
Kristen Huff
University of Florida, College of Journalism and Communications
UF ID: XXXXXXXX
Reitz Union Board Entertainment, President
http://www.union.ufl.edu/rub
Reitz Union Board of Managers, Marketing Committee Chairwoman
http://www.union.ufl.edu/information/managers/
cell: 555-555-5555
blog: http://ufstudentleaders.wordpress.com/
(As a side note, I use single spacing between lines, but WordPress is not cooperating) If I were to send that signature as is, it would be way too long, so I modify it depending on the recipient. When I’m e-mailing a professor having to do with class, I only include my college and UF ID. When it has to do with RUB Entertainment, I include that line and the corresponding organizational Web site. The same for Board of Managers.
The inclusion of the organizational Web site is arguable. I do it because not everyone knows what the organizations I’m apart of are, so I like to give them context. You might think it’s not necessary. If you are going to include a link, make sure you include the http:// so it links correctly.
When e-mailing someone in regard to RUB Entertainment or the Board of Managers, I also include my blog because more often than not, those recipients would be interested in my blog’s topic, so it’s a good way to advertise to a targeted audience.
So at most, my signature is five lines long and it says who I am and how I can be contacted. You don’t need to include your e-mail because you’re sending the message from that contact. You don’ t need to include your physical address because that will rarely be relevant.
Cut the fluff
OK, I know this is the same idea as the previous section, but I want to reiterate this point. Don’t include a picture or a quote. This breaks a bit from people like Scott Hanselman, who supports a photo, and the NetM@nners author who supports quotes, but I stand by my opinion: Yes, it’s cool and it’s a slice of your personality, but save that for your personal e-mail. Keep your professional e-mail pretty bare bones. The people you are contacting will get to know you through the content of your email or when you meet them in person–that’s not the function of your signature.
Be accurate
Seems obvious, but it must be said. I have definitely seen student signatures with incorrect information, and I gotta say, it doesn’t reflect well–and I’m just a student, not a potential employer. Keep that in mind.
Use it, don’t abuse it
Once you’ve established a relationship with a contact, you don’t need to keep including your signature. When sending e-mails to the directors in my organization, I delete my signature (if I remember) and just end with:
-Kristen
I do the same for e-mail threads. This is just a common courtesy to cut down on the length of your e-mails.
