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.