David Guetta

Founder and member of AEGEE-Kazantip*

Speaker of the Party Working Group

Active member of We-do-Nothing Commission

Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Party Newsletter

Member of EXIT** Committee

AEGEE/European Students’ Forum

Familiar signature, isn’t it? How many times it happened with you that reading the signature of the sender under e-mail, you already forgot which was the content of it and what sender initially wanted from you?

With me it happened few times. However, recently I received an e-mail from one AEGEE member, with excellent sense of humour, under which I saw the signature:

“_ _

Name Surname

to do: insert dozen lines of AEGEE title”

and I understood that this topic needs to be investigated as soon as possible with an urgent definition of diagnosis.

As most of my inbox emails are coming from AEGEE I decided that this is a perfect place for research!

Which situation in AEGEE we have with signatures? Figuratively, we can divide all AEGEE members into three groups: those who do not care about their e-mail signatures and put just name-surname in the best case; those who put in signature only necessary titles connected with the topic of the e-mail and recipient; and those who put there all possible titles (AEGEE + official job positions + all universities they studied in + position awarded after last Summer University in Riga etc.)

Spending hours and reading different theories about e-mail signatures I found out one of the most popular business theories which sounds like: “The more important person is, the shorter his e-mail signature”. Is it true? No idea, I never was emailing with a billionaire. However, both limit situations with an absence of e-mail signatures and with endless ones are not correct.

Let’s see first what is better NOT to do:

What to do if you want to destroy the impression about your e-mail and you as serious person:

• include all your personal websites, blogs, Skype and Twitter names
• write all positions and committees you were ever involved in
• specify all universities you were ever studying in
• write all possible ways to contact you (dozens of phone numbers, e-mails, your home address etc.)

If you anyway wrote everything above mentioned, but still the reader has last pieces of hope that you are an adequate person – write under your e-mail signature funny jokes or popular motivational quotes. This will kill this last hope once and forever.

Indeed, everything written in the previous paragraph rather says something about the absence of knowledge of simple business etiquette and your unprofessionalism, than how cool you are.

Now let’s try to answer the question “What should be put in your e-mail signature?”

There are existing few lines which are indeed very important to be included in your e-mail:

• Your name and surname
• Current position and company
• Preferred way to contact you (one phone and one e-mail address)

Maximum one or two lines can be added here, but only if it is related to the recipient or topic of the e-mail. The fact that you are a member of all the Working Groups in AEGEE and projects is better not to specify as it shows more that you are showing up, than that you have magic skills to do everything in the world in 24 hours.

So, what is your e-mail signature? These are final words in your message giving the last impression about you. What to put there is always up to you, but writing your next e-mail ask yourself:  If reading your signature the recipient will still remember what you wrote in the beginning?

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

_ _ _ _ _ _

* Fake name of local dedicated to famous party festival Kazantip at Crimean seaside, Ukraine

** Famous EXIT party festival in Novi Sad, Serbia

To work with Olga Iatsyna is always like traveling with a German train – nice, fast and on time. We have this internal rule in The AEGEEan not to nominate people from the team if they are not appointed from an external. So I was personally happy to see the nomination from the whole Network Commission (NetCom) team, saying: “she did an absolutely terrific job, holding together a team of eleven persons who all come from different areas, sometimes have different views. In the end she was the one who created a superb working and team atmosphere in the team, with every Netcommie really fond on her attention and care she put in issues like team administration and team building”.

It is not easy to form a team, to become friends and to hear so many positive words after the term of this person is over….So what was Olga’s secret to this success? Let us hear her to see how! 

Congratulations, Olga! You have done so many things as NetCom and speaker of the Network Commission that we received many nominations. Do you feel satisfied that your work has been recognised?

Thank you very much, to my dear former and current NetCom who nominated me! While reading my nomination I could not get rid of the feeling that it is about somebody else, but not me. I simply cannot be so nice! Many times proofreading interviews

“Once Netcommie – forever Netcommie!”

of former Members of the Month I read that they never expected this nomination and “Oh my God, oh my God..!” I will not lie – I am quite a vainglorious person and I was happy when I saw that I was nominated and the AEGEEan team voted in favour, and of course I am satisfied that my work in NetCom was recognised. But still I think that I am not so nice.

Does your attitude towards AEGEE changed – after the NetCom term, elections at Agora and everything?

In the beginning of my NetCom term in Alicante one famous AEGEE member Börni Pascha (AEGEE-Wien) told me that I should remember every minute of my NetCom time, because it would the best time of my life. Indeed, it was awesome, fabulous and an unique year. “Once Netcommie – forever Netcommie!” Sometimes of course I had the feeling that I don’t need AEGEE and this organisation is ruining my life. However, a NetCom trip to one of my locals was again and again changing my mind. Naturally, after Agora Enschede I wanted to leave AEGEE and finally get a life, but this organisation has evil influence on me and now I’m again starting to do some activities.

You are part of the AEGEEan team as well. What other positions do you hold in AEGEE? How do you combine them? Is there some you love more than the others?

Tricky question! It’s like to ask which child a mother loves more – I love them all. I am proofreader and journalist of the AEGEEan, proofreader of the

...in AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk I play the role of an oldie

new “Key to Europe”, became in charge of the Booklet Project of Visa Freedom Working Group, a member of the PR Group of the Eastern Partnership Project and in AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk. I play the role of an oldie, criticizing them all the time, I think a little bit more and they will kick me out.  I don’t know how I combine them – probably I have 30 hours in my day.

Tell us about your team in the Network Commission. It seems they just adore you as speaker. How did you achieve it and in general what was the atmosphere in the team?

Every speaker thinks that his/her team is the best one NetCom ever had. I am not an exception as I am more than sure that my team was the best of the best! The atmosphere was really good; we were all dedicated to our work and the new team will have fun reading our passionate discussions in the mailing list. Sometimes they were kicking my ass, sometimes it was me doing this, but it all was done somehow with love. We will always stay one big family.

How do you balance AEGEE vs normal life – before when you were NetCom and now?

I am very inventive – I found my love in AEGEE in order not to choose AEGEE or normal life! But of course I am joking – you never know where love will find you, mine found me here in AEGEE and I will be eternally grateful for this.

It’s not hard to balance – normal work during the day, AEGEE work at night, no sleep at all!

You will for sure see me at the stage of Agora Budapest

But if seriously, the more things you have to do, the more time you have to balance it.

What are you plans for the summer and for the future?

Change my job, spend summer holidays without AEGEE but with my boyfriend, and to try to get a life.

Do you want to be NetCom again?

No, for sure no. The second year would never be as awesome as the first one. It is important that one never stops at one thing even if it is the coolest thing ever; it is always important to move forward.

Share with us in one sentence what is AEGEE for you?

A place where even a fail can turn into great achievement!

So where to expect to see you again?

You will for sure see me at the stage of Agora Budapest asking the meanest questions!

Written by Liliya Buyukliyska, AEGEE-Sofia

Attention: If you think you know someone, who deserves to be honored as “Member of the Month”, send an email with the persons’ name and the reason for nominating him or her to aegeean@aegee.org.