Email Signature Guidelines

You can save yourself and your email recipients time by automatically appending your name and contact information through an email signature at the bottom of your messages.

People expect to see your name, title, unit name, UMD address, phone, fax (if you use it), UMD web address and a link to your unit-level social media account. If necessary for the type of work you do, disclaimers or confidentiality statements are also appropriate. Some people opt to include their email address, but since recipients presumably have your email address in the "From:" field, this is unnecessary. If you'd like to include a short UMD slogan that reinforces a key service, paste it below all your contact information.

Including the pronouns you wish to be referred to by is encouraged. Here's how to use pronouns appropriately.

Keep the signature block small. Refrain from philosophical statements or quotations. Avoid images pasted into your signature. Spam blockers don't like them, and many email programs will show them as attachments. Your recipient can't tell the attached image is just your logo or some harmless icon. This will make many people wary of opening your email for fear of viruses that might be linked to attachments.

Not including an appropriate signature can frustrate the recipient. If you've already sent someone an email, spare him or her the extra step of looking up your phone number or address. Links to your social media accounts and website within your signature are marketing tools because they can entice people to follow the links to learn more.

Keep your signature clean. Choose professional colors such as black or gray. Use one font. Stretch your signature wider rather than longer by using bullet points or pipes ( | ) between elements. You will commonly see the phone number and web address all on the same line in this manner.

Michael Dean
Director, Business Applications
University of Maryland
A. James Clark School of Engineering
2201 J.M. Patterson Building | College Park, MD 20742
tel 301.405.2050 | fax 301.314.2020
eng.umd.edu | @ClarkSchool

Michael Dean
pronouns: he/him/his
Director, Business Applications
University of Maryland
A. James Clark School of Engineering
2201 J.M. Patterson Building | College Park, MD 20742
tel 301.405.2050 | fax 301.314.2020
eng.umd.edu | @ClarkSchool