5 Steps To Making A Professional Email Signature

Whether you’re looking to make your Gmail account look a bit more professional or switch it up from “Sent from my iPhone,” these five tips will have your emails looking more professional than ever. These tips are applicable to both students and women in the corporate world; a professional email signature is important no matter your occupation.

Use a professional font and font size

No one wants to see an email signature that is in Comic Sans. Additionally, font size is important. Don’t use a font size that takes up an entire screen or is so small that the recipient of your email is unable to read it. Use a traditional font such as Times to construct your email signature. Use a slightly larger font size if you choose to include your name on the first line of your signature making your name stand out above company name and contact information.

Include job title or role as a student

Professionals can include their employer’s name and their respective job title in a second line. If you’re a student, you can include the name of your institution, graduation year, and/or majors if you have decided upon a major that you intend to stick with.

Include contact information

I have chosen to include my personal phone number in my email signature because it’s likely that you’ll receive a more timely response if you reach out to me via phone or text rather than email. If you have a company phone or extension, include this in your signature in case the recipient feels more comfortable conducting business via company phone.

Go light on links

If social media is especially relevant to your role, include a single link or icon that leads to a social media page. Otherwise, your personal Instagram and Twitter have no place in your email signature.

Keep things short and sweet

Your email signature doesn’t have to be ten lines to look professional. In fact, a shorter email signature that only includes the important things is more likely to get attention instead of being filtered out by the recipient as useless information.

Once you have designed your email signature, use the settings in your email to auto-include the signature on all email drafts and replies. Then, you won’t be worried with copy-pasting the signature into every email or reply.