Do’s and Don’ts: Creating an Email Signature for a Job Search
Your email etiquette, as a skill in its own right, is hugely important when job searching. A seemingly small, but very important detail that cannot be overlooked is your email signature (could also be known as an email footer). It’s a fundamental part of your email that you need to get right, especially when embarking on the hunt for a new role.
An email signature has the potential to be an extremely powerful tool if utilised correctly, and conversely, is a missed opportunity when not used at all. When using your work email address you probably have a neat signature with some company branding and your job title among other things. In short, it gives off a professional feel and this is exactly what you need to replicate on your personal email address. After all, you have to rely on your personal brand to stand out when looking for your next step on the career ladder.
Here’s your definitive guide on how to create a killer email signature.
Do: Include your phone number
Starting with the basics, aside from your name, what else should be included? I believe that a phone number is the most essential element of your email signature. If somebody needs to get hold of you quickly and easily at their convenience, this is how they are mostly likely to do it. If you’re on the hunt for a new role do you want to run the risk of missing out on this chance of communication?
Don’t: Include too many social profiles
Moving on, it could tempting to include every single one of your social profiles however this is usually a distraction and just gives the reader too many choices and hence often results in no contact at all.
My best recommendation for a job search is to include your LinkedIn profile and perhaps one other method. Your LinkedIn profile is essential, and obviously you have recently updated it to begin your job search (you have updated it haven’t you? Yes? Good!) so make sure that it is easily accessible for anyone who would like to learn more about your professional experience. Including just one other method keeps your email footer clean and is evidence of which social profiles you are most active on.
Don’t: Include your physical address
I can hear some of you thinking, ‘what about my actual address?’. The likelihood of anyone actually posting a letter to you is somewhere between slim and none so it really isn’t necessary. If somebody needs to know your address, they will either ask for it, or be able to find it on the top of your neatly crafted CV.
Do: Include a tagline
Just as your job title is always included on a work email signature, you should include a tagline on your personal signature. It’s an important few words so take time to make sure it communicates exactly what value you bring. This leads us nicely into the next point…
Do: Include the fact that you are “Seeking New Opportunities”
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to mention that you are available for hire and looking for new opportunities. You could even sneak in a bit extra asking for recommendations of roles that you might be suitable for or if you are happy for your details to be forwarded then say so. If you don’t ask then you don’t get.
Do: Include a link to your blog or examples of work
You’ve heard that blogging is the new CV and it’s not far from the truth. The fact is that showing any examples of a body of work is the quickest way for someone to get an idea of your skillset, thought process and just generally get to know you better. Linking to your blog, (github if you’re a developer, dribbble if you’re a designer etc) is a must.
Don’t: Have your email signature as one image
Whilst it might be tempting to design a fancy signature and just include it as an image there are two downsides to this. The first is that it makes the size of the email much larger and secondly, and more importantly, many email clients automatically block images until they are approved by the recipient.
Do: Inject some personality
The good thing about an email signature is that you can easily add in a hint of your personality. The design, copy or layout can all portray characteristics of your personality and brand so don’t be afraid to make it unique to you. If it makes you memorable then this is only a good thing during your job search.
Do: Feel proud to show it off — Get sending those emails!
A job search doesn’t complete itself without some good planning, hard work and a lot of hustle. Reach out to your network for help and shoot those employers some well crafted emails. For more help with this you should check out our E-Book of great tools to help with your job search and also our guide on growth hacking your career.
Hopefully you’re now sold on the benefits of a great email signature. It’s another string to the personal branding bow and often it’s these small details that get noticed more than you might think when an employer receives your email. Adding that additional piece of information could provide the credibility and human touch that gets you a response over the rest of the candidates upon application. That can make all the difference!
Do you have an inventive way of utilising your email signature to your advantage? Or have you received an email signature that particularly stood out. I’d love to hear any examples in the comments. Feel free to shoot me any questions in the comments or at @ParkerACS.
Note: this post was originally published on 8th January 2015.
