It’s vacation season! Don’t forget to set your out-of-office messages before you go!
Here are some clever examples you could use to make your OOO messages more entertaining.
First and foremost, let’s review the fundamentals of an OOO email. You usually include the following in your away message:
If you put it all together, your autoresponder would look like this:
“Hi there,
Thanks for your email. I’m currently out of the office until mm/dd/yyyy. If you need help, email my colleague at colleague@example.com.
Best,
[Name]”
A little boring, but it gets the job done. Or… you could liven up your message with one of these:
Of course, you can always add a couple of emojis to let people know you’re just trying to be silly or add gifs or photos for entertainment purposes. You may want to add an additional line explaining why you’re out. Hopefully, the receiver won’t be too upset they can’t reach you for a few days and be happy that you are getting to spend some time away from work because you made them giggle a little.
Now, all of these OOO messages are a great way to express yourself and engage with coworkers, prospects, and customers. It’s still crucial to maintain a professional demeanor and keep your jokes’ content PG to PG13.
It’s also crucial that your sense of humor isn’t so self-deprecating that it hurts your reputation, or that if you’re more sarcastic, you’re not hurting anyone and it’s evident that you’re joking. Here are some pointers on how to be hilarious while remaining professional: