Trying to get to know a new co-worker? According to Post Grad Problems, a good place to start is by analyzing their email signature. To this end, the website has come up with the following list of email signatures and their corresponding personality traits:
- “Best.” Signing an email with “Best” is the peak of passive-aggressiveness. “Best” is really just office speak for “Buzz Off.” You could be asking an underling for a report that was due yesterday, or you could be rehashing an incredibly simple concept that you’ve already put into three emails before this one. Signing an email with “Best” is a great way to let people know that you’re snarky and you’re done messing around. It does have another use, though, and that is as the most commonly used signature amongst two people who don’t really know each other. I get emails from recruiters and people trying to get me to pimp their products to my small (but loyal) following all of the time. Sometimes “Best” really does the trick. It’s impersonal, but personal at the same time.
- “Warm Regards.” I like to use this one when I’m emailing a co-worker whom I have only met in a very cursory sense. I also whip it out when I’m messaging with a close friend whom I haven’t spoken to in a while because they’re living their life in Tokyo, Japan. “Warm Regards” connotes elegance and it also comes off as very polite, but should only be used with people whom you don’t regularly speak to.
- “Sincerely.” The last sentence of an email with the word “Sincerely” in it reads exactly like this – “Please find attached to this email my resume, cover letter, and a list of references.” Sincerely is outdated, and the only reason anyone uses it is when they’re applying for a job they know they probably don’t have a shot in hell of getting.
- “Cheers.” Office d-bag. Probably was in a fraternity (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and more than likely likes to quote Anchorman “with his boys.” Cheers is a great way to weed out awful people from your life. This isn’t England, and we’re not at the pub having a pint with the lads.
- Your initials. Love this move. Should only be used once you’ve gotten extremely comfortable with someone, but it is so much better than any other email signature because it’s simple. It can definitely come off as cold or callous in some way if you don’t really know the person you’re emailing with, but it’ll save you a few extra seconds of time and it’s far more original than using anything else in this godforsaken listicle.