"Letters after your name". . .Question for HR Professionals

[Anonymous]

I hold a Ph.D. I seldom indicate.

I think put SPHR in your Linked In page but leave it off everywhere else.

If a recruiter is looking for SPHR ( applies to PMP and other designations such as CPA) you will be found.

Email signatures are getting ridiculously long.

[Anonymous]

AI is going to make HR obsolete in a couple of years so it really doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

I work in STEM. People with an ScD or PhD in STEM who are outside academia usually list the doctorate in 3 letters after the name on business cards and email signatures. Many in academia do the same.

The few STEM with a doctorate —outside academia— who use “Dr.” in front of their name in those 2 situations often come across as pretentious, even if they do not realize it. In some academic environments, listing “Dr.” before the name is common.

In STEM, a Bachelors or Masters degree is not usually listed.

A fully licensed Professional Engineer normally does list “PE” after the name — as that PE license matters for construction-related work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently earned my SPHR, and have been advised to list this after my name on my email signature and business card.

I also hold a M.S. and a M.Ed. I have never listed those, but should I? Does it seem obnoxious? It would be,

Jane Doe, SPHR, M.S., M.Ed

Thanks for any feedback or opinions.

People who see it will either not understand it, think less of you, or both.

No one except your hiring manager cares about your degrees, and that person only needs to see it on your cover letter and resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My co-worker, who is not in HR, is also curious about this. Her take is that people don't include degrees unless they are PhD

I don’t include my PhD either.

[Anonymous]

For the HR professionals who say it’s relevant in their field (even though those of us outside of HR have no idea what these mean at all), here’s my question: aren’t the people you interact with the employees of the entity for which you are doing HR work? We have no idea what these letters mean and why that would be relevant to our interaction. No?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not an HR professional so forgive me for butting in, but personally I find it annoying and tiring when people list their degrees after their name in email signature lines. I have two advance degrees and save listing them on my resume. I'm an attorney. My business card says so but I don't list "JD" or other degrees after my name. I have definitely noticed that only the most insecure and/or annoying people add this or "esquire" or such to their email signatures.

Ditto.

Another ditto (with a JD and a PhD)

Another +1.

[Anonymous]

Nobody cares about HR certifications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not an HR professional so forgive me for butting in, but personally I find it annoying and tiring when people list their degrees after their name in email signature lines. I have two advance degrees and save listing them on my resume. I'm an attorney. My business card says so but I don't list "JD" or other degrees after my name. I have definitely noticed that only the most insecure and/or annoying people add this or "esquire" or such to their email signatures.

+1

My favorites are the lawyers who write things like “Ms. Smith got her Juris Doctorate from…”. Please.

[Anonymous]

I am a JD and those letters mean nothing to me and if I see them I assume someone is looking for attention or overcompensating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not an HR professional so forgive me for butting in, but personally I find it annoying and tiring when people list their degrees after their name in email signature lines. I have two advance degrees and save listing them on my resume. I'm an attorney. My business card says so but I don't list "JD" or other degrees after my name. I have definitely noticed that only the most insecure and/or annoying people add this or "esquire" or such to their email signatures.

Ditto.

Another ditto (with a JD and a PhD)

I agree with that when it comes to lawyers, mainly because you are either admitted to the bar or not; there aren't levels within that. However, in OP's field, there are degrees of professionals, just as there might be a PA versus an MD in your doctor's office, or an RN versus an LPN, a school teacher versus a professor with an academic PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AI is going to make HR obsolete in a couple of years so it really doesn’t matter.

How is AI going to do that, lol? Are we going to have AI robots?

[Anonymous]

The standard used to be to list your highest relevant degree only. And only on your business card, not on your email signature. It is assumed that you are qualified for the job you have!

So in your case, OP, it might be the SPHR. If you are working in education, it might be the M.Ed. People with a PhD almost always have a masters as well, but it'd be weird to list the masters. One assumes that you have the precursors to your highest degree.

The one that really tweaks me is people who list both the degree and the honorific. Dr. Jane Doe PhD is so gauche.