Email Secret #1: Stop sending important messages via your iphone
A great way to undermine the seriousness and credibility of an email is to end it with the automatic signature “Sent from my iphone.” Yes, I understand that you’re on the go, that you already know your response, and you want to make sure that you reply in a timely manner. However, many people in positions of power to let you into the school, internship, job, or fellowship program of your choice take email communication pretty seriously—and we hate the idea that you just quickly typed something and shot it off on your phone—excuse me, your “iphone.” If I get an internship application with “Sent from my iphone” at the bottom of the message, I become that much more sensitive to any other factors in the application that could come across as weaknesses. I take it that the person is such a multitasker and so overextended they didn’t have the time to stop, sit down at a computer, and write a thoughtful message. I think, No thanks, I’ll pass and take on someone with a little bit more time on their hands. So take it from me, a thirtysomething who is an old school curmudgeon at heart: Stop sending important messages from your iphone, smart phone, iPad, or tablet. If you must send important messages via these methods, take the time to remove that annoying signature. Someone who cares about proper grammar, spelling, and formatting is not going to forgive your sloppy communication just because you wrote your message on a tiny touchscreen keyboard.
How to remove “sent from my iphone” from your email messages:
I am actually taking each one of these steps one by one as I write this post so that I too can join the intelligent masses who no longer broadcasts their status as an iphone owner/lazy emailer. Let’s do this! Click on the Setting icon (the one that looks like a gear). Click on “Mail, Contacts, Calendars.” Scroll down and click on “Signature.” Delete the dreaded phrase “Sent from my iphone.” Click the “< Mail…” text in the upper left corner. You will no longer cause unnecessary annoyance to curmudgeons and powerful gatekeepers who believe in the sanctity of thoughtful email communication!
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