E signature

posted January 19th, 2019 at 2:36 PM

My boss told me to fax things to a client I had not dealt with before (and is quite elderly). I decided to do up a cover letter since there were a couple of pages coming and instructions for each section. The letter was a brief hello, instructions, thank you if you need help let me know. I thought instead of signing my name (as the client has no idea who I am since they don't use email), I would put my boss's e-signature on the letter to make it look more professional. I could have used my own and done the "pp" thing, but thought it might be odd on a fax. I didn't ask permission to do a cover letter or use the e signature. Unfortunately when we got the documents faxed back it came with the fax cover I had sent so my boss could see I used her signature. Now I'm worried I might get in trouble over it. I would never use the signature on a legal document or anything of importance without permission, and a fax cover letter is nothing. It's so hard to tell what will irritate my boss or not. It seemed harmless at the time, but now...

11 Comments

You could...

Jan 19, 2019 at 6:42pm

... ask your boss, ask for clarity on how these cover letters should be written. If you did the wrong thing, it's because the boss didn't give you clarity on how to do this task.

Anonymous

Jan 19, 2019 at 6:47pm

I'd sooner blow my brains out with a shotgun than work for a woman.

Most boring confession ever

Jan 19, 2019 at 7:53pm

I gotta stay away from this forum, it’s rotting my brain

You shoulda

Jan 20, 2019 at 2:44am

You should communicated with your boss before you sent anything with his name on it. It's bad form and unprofessional. Tell him/her ASAP, like, right now. Apologize, take full ownership, spell out how you won't do it again and what you'll do next time that is right and correct and never do crap like that again.

Honestly

Jan 20, 2019 at 7:52am

No one gets paid enough in Van to worry, you’re fine, mistakes and miscommunications happen. Just say you weren’t sure apologize and now you know the protocol for next time. And if your boss hangs that over your head find a new office environment.

I used to work for government

Jan 20, 2019 at 1:14pm

All elected officials, CEOS, etc. all rely on subordinates to write letters for them all the time. I would often reply to correspondence for a minister, and use his signature: it was standard. Although, in your case, I don't know what the usual protocol is.

@Anonymous

Jan 20, 2019 at 2:04pm

You're an ass...

Junior mistake

Jan 20, 2019 at 2:35pm

You should never use another persons signature without prior permission. Period. Ever. You should have simply signed it yourself, which is what was probably expected. If you’re taken to task, just play it cool and say you weren’t sure what the protocol was, and apologize. Let them know you won’t do it again. Hopefully you are indeed a junior, and all will be forgotten.

Never

Jan 20, 2019 at 5:41pm

I'm surprised that anyone would have to think twice about the answer here. Who would ever use another person's signature without them knowing, especially an employer! Good gawd.

Least of your worries

Jan 21, 2019 at 8:27am

If your boss even notices, tell her that it’s just something you assumed you wanted to do...it’s just a cover letter, and you assumed a client would like to receive something coming from her. No big deal.