Question - Putting Degrees In Signatures

[JT7890]

This topic has been highly debated on other forums and blogs, so I wanted to see what you guys thought. So I'm getting my MBA in December and the question is, should I put MBA after my name in email signatures, business cards, etc? Basically, John Doe, MBA?

Some people say that it looks stupid and unprofessional, while others say that if you went through the preparation and courses, to show it off.

Keep in mind I plan on continuing my education into the doctoral level. I have no ambitions for teaching but more for the research based procedures that come with the research degree along with the extended credibility. You have the DBA and the PhD, the PhD at the university I'm considering is the research based program.

Prospective clientele and other business professionals I network with to do potential business, all find that professionals with adequate "field" experience as well as "academic" experience are at the top of the ladder. I can easily demonstrate my "field" experience but should I display my academic success as well?

What do you guys think? John Doe, MBA? I've even seen some guys put their Bachelors level degrees after their name such as John Doe, BA or John Doe, BS. I have two Bachelor degrees (a BA in Journalism and a BS in Business Management) that I could start placing the abbreviations behind my name right now if that were the case, but I wanted to wait until I got the MBA to do so as it's seen as a higher level accomplishment.

 

[AAAgent]

i don't think MBA is a title. If you had a CPA, CFA, Ph.D, MD, etc. then i would say yes but an MBA is just a degree.

It'd be weird to put AAAgent, Bachelors of Science.

Reminds me of a friend of mine who put in his skills section of his resume

Skills: Internet

I was just like ... "dude....take the sh1t out."

 

[Bible_Belt]

I have the right to refer to myself as "esquire," whatever the hell that means. It sounds like a gay knight. This is due to my JD, which I always thought meant 'juvenile delinquent.'

The business world does resemble the dating world in some ways. Trying too hard to impress everyone will backfire. The people who matter will get to know you, and they will learn the extent of your education from talking to you and seeing your resume. The opinions of everyone else do not matter.

 

[f283000]

Yes go ahead and put MBA in your emails...so people can think you're a douche! That's not a title it's a degree and it will make you look bad doing it.

Stop trying to impress people with such tactics. I can only imagine what other things you might do in your life like this. Impress people with your charisma, personality, hard work and dedication.

 

[JT7890]

Well everybody seems to be against it so far, my question is why do so many business professionals have "MBA" after their names then? From networking, to blogging, etc., I see that everywhere now. But I know that when this topic of discussion comes up (should I put MBA or BS or PhD behind my name) majority of the people responding are negative towards it for some reason.

I haven't decided on if it's right or wrong yet, I can tell you that alot of business professionals are doing this though.

Bible Belt mentioned he had a JD, my question to the rest that responded was do you have any higher level of degrees as well? Just trying to get a bigger understanding of the viewpoints, thanks.

 

[runner83]

Might be different over here, but the general rule here is:

- On business cards, you put down your degrees and professional accreditations.

For example, I have a bachelor degree and a masters degree (both in the same field), plus two professional accreditations (which are required legally to independently practise in my field), so if I had a business card, they would all be listed.

- E-mail signature, you don't put down degrees. However professional accreditations may be listed.

So, for my work e-mail, I have my two professional accreditiations listed, but not my degrees.

Anyone who says you should not list them "because you'll look like a douche" is wrong.

You're not putting these on cards to impress girls - you are putting them on the card / e-mail so that people you are dealing with in a professional setting have an awareness of your level of professional competence.

 

[AAAgent]

there's a difference between listing your qualifications and adding them to your signature.

listing would be something like:

Secret AAAgent Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Harvard - Masters of Business Administration
Duke - Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (Finance & Accounting)

as opposed to this

Secret AAAgent CFA, MBA, BSBA

the latter looks pretty douche. It's really all about presentation. You can get it all shown on there without getting people ticked off.

 

[JT7890]

runner 83

Anyone who says you should not list them "because you'll look like a douche" is wrong.

You're not putting these on cards to impress girls - you are putting them on the card / e-mail so that people you are dealing with in a professional setting have an awareness of your level of professional competence.

I'm kind of leaning towards this line of thought. From researching this there's really not a "set" answer, however, being a business consultant it would seem as though the listing would make sense if it's related to the work being performed. So John Doe, MBA (which I see EVERYWHERE on business cards AND in email signatures by top professionals in the field) doesn't seem to be that "off" to me giving the setting. If it's so douche why do all of these other professionals do it? I see it on the financial news channels like Fox Business and CNBC, it will list Amy Sanders, MBA and Tim Smith, MBA, etc. I see it on email signatures of just about EVERY business consultant I network with, so all of these people are douche bags?

But again, I still haven't made up my mind, I won't be getting the MBA until the end of the year so I have time to think about this.

 

[Huffman]

Yeah you can for business mails, no problem.

But I wouldn't really put MBA in, because it's not a very high qualification. If you put it in, then it's to show that you HAVE a good title. People reading this will think "man he's just an MBA, he'd better not show off". Ph.D. or Professor goes easy because you can just put it in your name (Dr. Huffman).

edit: Actually if it's your business card and you work freelance, put it in. There's so many frauds out there that people are going to be relieved to see your degree.

 

[Road Demon]

Might be different over here, but the general rule here is:

- On business cards, you put down your degrees and professional accreditations.

For example, I have a bachelor degree and a masters degree (both in the same field), plus two professional accreditations (which are required legally to independently practise in my field), so if I had a business card, they would all be listed.

- E-mail signature, you don't put down degrees. However professional accreditations may be listed.

So, for my work e-mail, I have my two professional accreditiations listed, but not my degrees.

Anyone who says you should not list them "because you'll look like a douche" is wrong.

You're not putting these on cards to impress girls - you are putting them on the card / e-mail so that people you are dealing with in a professional setting have an awareness of your level of professional competence.

Good Advice.

 

[JT7890]

I'm leaning more towards what roadrunner and Huffman said as well, however, here's my question, does anybody have access to a specific rule of the road regarding this from a credible source?

I'm saying, I'm quite sure there's got to be a standard rule to this right?

Some people say never put anything there unless it's a graduate degree, some say never put anything there unless it's a doctoral degree, some say never put anything there unless you are a doctor or a lawyer, some say never put anything there unless you are a doctor. << All of these are opinions based on the person's personal preference, I really don't care what their personal preference is, I want to follow the actual standard rule of the road.