THE SILENT BENEFIT OF AN ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE: MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
This is my personal experience from using e-signatures in my emails for a few years now and the silent benefits it could bring.
Scholarship applicants please take note:
The sort of e-signature is the one used to sign off emails. Without boring you with particular defintion.
I have attached a screen shot of the two e-signatures I currently use to sign off my emails.
While there are obvious benefits of an e-signature, there are silent benefits that slide past us.
I intend to itemise a few which was premised on my daily DM correspondence with scholarship enthusiasts on Twitter.
Some benefits of using an e-signature in emails or other correspondence are:
1. An E-signature conveys a message about your professionalism and coordination. Please note that not using one does not mean that you are not coordinated. An e-signature amplifies that for you.
A few people have sent me DMs here on twitter and in the excitement of trying to pass their message, they forget to mention their name. While this is not an issue for me because it is just a chat, I will always want to address them with their name...
However, their twitter name might be *Sexy President of Lagos* (just an example). Note that communication is strengthened if proper introduction is made. Each time you send a DM to ANYONE, never forget to sign off your name at the end.
Imagine sending an email to someone without your name, how does the person know who it is? For scholarship applicants, this is particularly important. You do not want a prospective supervisor to think that you are not coordinated even without opening your attachments.
2. It makes your email look appealing: This point is simply for the show and aesthetics😀 but remember that everything you do when searching for jobs or scholarships is all marketing and you need to put your best foot forward.
Imagine if a potential employer or supervisor is impressed with your e-signature and then opens your CV and credentials and notices they are top notch too. Your chances might improve.
3. E-signatures unconsciously invite the receiver to click: This is particularly important for scholarship applicants and job seekers. Recently, I sent an email to someone which was totally unrelated to a job search.
Few hours after I sent the email, she called me and said she has spent some hours on my personal website and she was immediately offering me a job. I had to remind her that I was a PhD student and could not take up the job until after my studies.😀
Please note that she could access my website because it was on my e-signature.
In 2019 while looking for a supervisor. I contacted one of the supervisors in a prestigious University in London but after few weeks without a reply, I got a notification from my LinkedIn profile.
It was shocking for me that the prospective supervisor had viewed my LinkedIn profile. Fortunately for me, it was already well packaged.😀
A week later, this prospective supervisor replied and accepted to supervise me for a PhD. We still keep in touch.
My assumption was that he clicked on the LinkedIn link on my e-signature. Please note that he could have searched for my profile but I will like to believe it was easier for him to click on the link that actually search for my profile on his own.
Do you notice the point I am trying to communicate here? I am sure you do. As a scholarship applicant or job applicant, there are many things you cannot add to your CV but you can add to your website or LinkedIn profile.
It could be that what captures the attention of the employer or supervisor is the 3 months internship on your LinkedIn profile which is not on your CV or perhaps what you did not think is important.
An e-signature silently invites people to view other profiles you hold in the public domain. Although this is not always the case, this could maximise your chance and opportunity.
I have just highlighted only 2 of the opportunities which came to me because of e-signatures.
Having mentioned this, I have a few suggestions on what you can add to your e-signature if you decide to use one:
A. Social media links/handles: Please use the ones that you want your employers or potential supervisor to see😀. I use all of mine as seen👆
B. Professional/research handles and links such as LinkedIn, Google scholar, Research gate etc. This is important if you are searching for scholarships and research opportunities
C. Address
D. Phone numbers
E. Personal website
F. ETC.
Please note that there is no rule anywhere that says not using an e-signature will minimise your options, I have just used my experience to communicate the silent benefits.
Most email domains provide the facility to add an e-signature. Please utilise it, it does not hurt.
I am still shocked that it is 15years already since you left me down here. How are you holding up and what is happening up there? It has been a crazy time for us this past year because of a deadly virus.
A lot of people died and the world is still suffering from it. At least you do not get to see all that now. I am sorry I always bring you bad news from down here even though I was hoping not to share any more bad news with you this year.
I am sure you, dad and step mum have all met up and perhaps living in the same house up there. I am sure God can organise that for you guys? Remember when I wrote you last year right?
Being a PhD student and new to the research life, the rigorous process of ethical application for a complex study like mine pushed me to my limits.
Although I had very supportive supervisors, they did not spare me in being critical of my work. In fact, my principal supervisor Dr @endinequity will say "Aaron sometimes it is best to be blunt with you about your work".
The bluntness sharpened me and made me more resilient. I took these comments with a smile because I knew it was for my own good.
I know you have been delayed by incessant ASUU strikes. I know you should have graduated by now but you are still stuck. While you feel down, I come with a few words that you can take note of:
1. You have not lost any time and you have not been delayed. This is the time to strengthen your skills.
Take up volunteering and internship positions while you are home and waiting to graduate. Remember that they will boost your CV and SOPs in the future.
2. Do not rush, we will not run out of international scholarships. They are always there for you. Make a deliberate list of the scholarships you want to apply for when you graduate.
Look at their eligibility criteria. What are they? Do they need IELTS, GRE, TOEFL?
Today, I offer you a few workable tips to assist you in the search for supervisors.
1. Go to the staff page within the department or school website and look up lecturers whose research interests align with yours.
2. Another trick is to use the search bar on the website and type in the key terms of your research or interest. E,g Professor in public health/accounting/English etc. You can then instinctively navigate the page through the results.
This VERY long thread will break down the process of writing an SOP using six questions that have worked for me in the several admissions and scholarships I have secured.
Get a drink and let us begin.
Writing an SOP requires thorough research and planning. Writing an SOP involves writing a story of your academic and professional experience.
Remember that volunteering or internship roles also count when you are writing your SOP.
It is important to tell a coherent story from start to finish of your SOP. This allows the assessors to link your passion with your academic and professional trajectory.
It is also very significant that you allow others (mentors, friends, professionals) to review your essays.