We’ve been listening to you and, thus, have decided to start a soft skills professional development series. Be on the lookout for articles focused on building the soft skills necessary to have larger yields on your professional success. To start, let’s focus on the email, which is usually the first step.
Why do we email? We want info. Social security, zip code, credit card.. just kidding just kidding. But really, it’s because we want to (1) want to connect with someone and (2) typically learn something. Maybe you are reaching out about internship opportunities, asking a teacher about being in their research lab, or connecting with someone at your dream company to hear about their work. We want to support you and make sure you have the best odds of a response because these individuals can be critical for your success
We’ve all been there: sent an email to a cool person from LinkedIn and received no response. In fact, both of us were there until we learned how to write an email that got responses. We know this will seem basic, but hold on to this. You’ll never stop having to write emails, so let’s learn how to do it the right way.
First, what’s the layout of the email? Here are the 5 major parts of an email:
- Intro/greeting: Introducing yourself and professionally greeting them
- Body: Your goals, why you are reaching out. Essentially, the background information
- The request: Ask for a specific and direct request. It is helpful and clear to use a question mark, and if you are trying to set up a meeting, GIVE YOUR AVAILABILITY.
- Wrap-up: Finish out the email formally
- Email Signature: Adds professionalism to the email
That was the basic layout but let’s build this out further. Remember, the whole *point* of an email is to get a response, so your goal should be to connect with the receiver of the message and consider what in your email would get them to respond and why.
Intro: this is where you say hello and introduce yourself and your background
- Good morning/afternoon or Hi (want to maintain formality)
- No ‘dear’ – it’s a little emotional/familial
- “Hi” – for colleagues or people you know well
- “Good morning/afternoon” – for professors and people you don’t know well
- Make sure you say their name not just the greeting word
- Try to find their appropriate title (don’t assume all professors are “Dr.”)
- Some people prefer to go by their first name, but don’t assume this unless you have previously talked to them or if in a response they say their first name
- Introduce yourself!
- Your name, major, brief relevant background, interests etc.
Body: this explains why you are reaching out to THEM and your goals in possibly connecting me with them
- How you know them
- Were you connected to them?
- Did you connect with them on Linkedin?
- Were you on a website and found their name?
- Why you decided to reach out to them
- Is there something you want to learn about?
- Are they in a job or position you find appealing?
- Did they do an opportunity you are considering?
- Tip: give them something to relate to you with, a similar university organization, a connection they know, etc.
- Is there something you want to learn about?
- Your goals of having a conversation with them
- This is your chance to explicitly state why you want to talk to them
Request: this is where you ask to connect with them, offer times over one or two weeks that you are available
- Ask: “Would you be willing to meet over the next two weeks? If so. here are times I am currently free”
- ‘currently” is important because schedules can change depending on how long it takes for you to get a response
- Give literal dates: (i.e. Mon, Mar 7)
- You want to make it as easy as possible for them to compare their calendar to yours
- Reminder YOU are taking time out of their day, so be courteous and save an email exchange by giving times you are free
- Tip: Maybe ask to just talk about their background. Not even necessarily getting a job
- At the same time, people you are talking to are busy, and they shouldn’t feel like you are wasting their time
- Tip: Don’t be too straight forward!! This can come off wrong
- Don’t just say: “can you give me a referral?” or “can you connect me with a partner?” or anything out of line
- You do not want the exchange to be or even come off as transactional
Wrapping up: this is where you end the email
- Mention “thank you again!” and “please let me know if any of these times work for you”
- Wrap with a final greeting: “Hope you have a great afternoon!”
- Best, FIRST NAME
- i.e. Best, James
Email Signature: builds credibility and professionalism
- Times New Roman 11pt
- First line: First Last name (bolded)
- Second line: The University of XXX | Class of 202X
- Third line: Major(s)
- Fourth line (optional): Minor(s); certificates
- Fifth line (optional): email/phone
- Sixth line (optional): position in relevant organizations
Let’s take a look at some examples:
To a prospective research mentor: This was written while looking for a research lab in biochemistry
Good afternoon Dr. XX,
I am a current second-year student majoring in Biochemistry and Economics, and I am looking to get involved in research with biochemistry this upcoming semester. I was exploring the biochemistry website, and I found your research extremely interesting with Glycobiology. Through my coursework in genetics and biology, I have become familiar with sugars and the central dogma and am most interested in how your research applies outside of just studying OGN. I am currently finishing CHEM 2212, Organic Chemistry II, and I will be starting BCMB 4010 next semester as a third-year and have undertaken undergraduate research before.
I am interested in potentially obtaining an MD/PhD, and I want to build further research experience in the Biochemistry space. I have done research on Johns Hopkins and their programs as well and I would be extremely interested in hearing about your experience as a postdoc there.
Would you have time within the next month to talk about your research? I would greatly appreciate it and would love the opportunity. Below are some times I am currently available:
- X,
- X
- X
- X
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns or what would be the best way to meet if you have time. I also have my resume attached below. Thank you so much!
Best,
Dawson
Dawson J. Templin (he/him)
The University of Georgia | Class of 2025
A.B. Economics | B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Certificate: Personal and Organizational Leadership
To an individual at a firm I was curious about: This was written to learn more about a company that I was considering applying to intern/have a full-time job at
Hi XXX,
I hope you are doing well!! I am planning on submitting my application within the next few days for [position] at [company] in the [city] office. If you have some time, would you be available to speak to me about your experience on XXX? I enjoyed getting to connect with you in Athens a few months ago and would love to follow up. I would appreciate any guidance or support you can provide through the application process as well. I have listed some times that I am available next week below. I can be fairly flexible with my internship, so please let me know what works best with your schedule:
– Mon, June 24th: before 3pm
– Tues, June 25th: 8am-5pm
– Wed, June 26th: before 5pm
– Thurs, June 27: before 10am / after 12pm
– Fri, June 28: 8am-5pm
Do any of these times work for you? Thank you so much again, and I hope you have a great morning!
Best,
Saanvikha
Saanvikha Saravanan (she/her)
The University of Georgia | Morehead Honors College
B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | A.B. Spanish
Well, there you have it. I know this gave a brief template on how to write a successful cold email, but the most important thing the receiver is going to look for is genuinity. They want to see that you truly want to connect or talk with them, so make sure your email is personal and authentic. Don’t simply copy and paste the same template to each person you reach out to without taking the time to edit it based on what would be appropriate to the specific receiver. Remember, don’t write a novel, be on the briefer side (unless you reached out on Linkedin and they know you’re gonna write them). Try to form a connection with the recipient of the email (university, club, etc.) because this makes them more likely and excited to respond.
If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected] (haha get it?). But really, be on the lookout for more professional development soft skills and hope this helps you create excellent emails that get responses!