I think signature blocks CAN be pretentious, if someone takes the opportunity to load it with all kinds of irrelevant info that just screams, "Look at me! I'm so important!"
But if you often really do need to add your title and/or phone number to correspondence, then a signature block is very handy so you don't have to keep typing it over and over again, and maybe make a typo in the phone number sometime. Like if you are often addressing outside people, or even internal people who don't really know you, it might be helpful to have, "Senior Accounting Director" or whatever in your signature, so people are like, "Oh, I guess this is an official directive from Accounting, then."
When we advertise for student workers I get a lot of emails with long signatures, ridiculous given the context.
Hi, this is Bob Landon. I'm interested in the student worker position you have advertised, and I'd like to get some more information about it. Thanks!
Bob Landon
Class of 2021
Biophysics major, College of LAS
Phi Sigma Phi
Accounting Chair, Biophysics Club
Cell #:
Home #:
Email:
It's like a mini-resume. Now, some of that info is indeed useful to me. But, I'm just going to send him the same form to fill out that I send to everyone, and he's going to have to put his major, when he graduates, his email, relevant current and former jobs and activities, etc. on that, in the proper standardized format so I can easily look over it and compare him to the other 99 people I will get applying for the job. And I don't even know what Phi Sigma Phi is. Is he in a fraternity? Is that one of those "honor societies" that are basically just a resume-padder because you just pay them and they let you join and use their name? What does "Class of 2021" even mean these days? You'd think it means he is graduating in May 2021, but I find that's often not the case, and it's why I specifically ask, "When are you graduating? (semester and year)" because a lot of people will graduate in December or August, which could make a big difference in our hiring decisions.
So to me it's all just useless fluff at the end of his email that I kind of just roll my eyes at. It's that, "Throw everything possible in there because bigger is more impressive, even if it's not relevant" mentality.
And with professors you'll get stuff like
Dr. Harry Lewis
Doctor of Astronomy
Professor, Astronomy Department, University of North Dakota
Neil Armstrong Chair
Celestial Grant Recipient, 1993
[several lines of contact info, including website]
Like, get over yourself. Probably all you need is, "I'm Dr. Harry Lewis of the Astronomy Department of the University of North Dakota, and my research shows that..." Obviously, a phone number if you would like the person to contact you that way. They don't need your mailing address attached to every email, a list of all the awards you've won, your cross-disciplinary appointments, etc.. Mention what's relevant for that particular email, and only put in your signature the stuff you need a LOT.