{"id":4556,"date":"2014-02-17T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2014-02-17T07:00:58","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T12:00:58","slug":"personal-branding-and-the-email-signature-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/personal-branding-and-the-email-signature-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal Branding and the Email Signature Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Personal

Your executive job search is underway, or about to be, and you\u2019re working on your branded email signature.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best way to design it \u2013 with graphics, logos, and other pretty visual effects or just text with no enhancements?<\/p>\n

We’ve all received email messages with impressive signature sections at the bottom that were well-branded and attractively designed . . . with logos, graphics and hyperlinks functioning perfectly.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, we’ve all also received email signatures that didn’t function properly or come through as intended. Images and logos were blocked, hyperlinks dissolved, text strings wrapped badly.<\/p>\n

The sender may have designed a great email signature, but you\u2019re not seeing it.<\/p>\n

For your own email signature, you’d naturally prefer the former.<\/p>\n

Okay. No problem designing a beautiful one enhanced with graphics. But you want to be assured that it will function perfectly for everyone receiving it.<\/p>\n

No such luck. It’s not possible.<\/p>\n

Why not?<\/em><\/p>\n

This problem was deftly explained by Rex Weston in his recent blog post, Email Signature Design, Layout and Content<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“[An email signature] begins simply enough, the user composing a message using their email program (Outlook, iPhone, Gmail, etc.). The formatting of an email message, and signature, almost always starts out perfect. The next step though, is that it\u2019s received by someone who:<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n