Hello Everyone, I have had great
opportunities for studying abroad on fully-funded scholarships. Many new
opportunities are launching day by day and one should not miss these
opportunities. If you are contacting professors for scholarships, internship
positions and you are not getting a reply then I will teach you How to Reach
out to the Professors. Whenever I wrote an email to professors, I was lucky
enough to get a reply even if he wouldn’t accept new students.
I want to help all those students
who are struggling with this issue of NOT GETTING A RESPONSE from
professors at all.
Therefore, I am writing down my
little guide on How to Reach out to the Professors? How you find the
project interesting? How you reach out to him? And I am sure, if anyone follows
it, will be able to get a response. So let’s Get Started.
Starting with the Subject Line:
Here you need to think precisely.
Do not try writing in general words and in a non-professional way such as
Request to read email, master program, Ph.D. program, etc.
Always write the subject
of your email in simple 4 to 5 words.
Remember, the subject
line is the only thing that the professors will first look on. If you
want him or her to open your entire email, you need to impress him with
the subject line first.
Let me show you, how you
can do that!
You can write simply as Request
for Internship supervision! See. How catchy is it! It’s precise and
self-explanatory.
Now coming to the Body of your email
How would you start an email effectively
yet respectful? Think of this; is he your colleague or a friend??? Of
course not. Then stop writing directly with the name. For example, Hi
Paulina or Hi George.
Also, do not write in a
childish way such as Respected Sir, Dear Sir, and Respected
Madam. This would make them think that you are copying and pasting one
general email to hundreds of professors.
Always give a proper
title to the respective person, e.g. Dr. Joseph. This
way he would know that you are a serious student who is not sending bundles of
emails to everyone.
Keep your email precise.
250 or fewer words are more than enough. Remember that professors have many
things to do so they do not bother to read an email that is written like an
essay. Split these words into 3 paragraphs
Starting with the first introductory Paragraph
Introduce yourself in a
professional way. My tip #1 here is to think for a moment that
you are a professional researcher in a big institute. This will help you write
in a professional way.
Tip #2 state your goal. After
introducing yourself, instantly tell the person why is he reading your email?
What do you want from him? E.g. you want an opportunity to do research with
him. This way he would already have an idea right before going into the
explanation of your talent.
Tip #3 do NOT explain your
entire biography. Remember the nature of the position you are applying for.
Therefore, stick to that and explain only those achievements that will help you
stand out from the rest.
Tip #4 state if you have
IELTS or TOFEL results. Even if you don’t have the results
beforehand, tell him that you are planning to take the test in the coming days.
After reading until here, you have already caught the attention of the
professor.
Now coming to the second Paragraph.
How you find the project
interesting? How you reach out to him?
Here you need to write in a way
that the respective person would believe that you actually went to his
entire profile and did some research on his work. Because they already
know that students randomly send emails asking for research positions to
everyone. So my tip here is to tell him that you truly worked through his
profile and liked his work.
The third and the last paragraph is very important.
The closing paragraph should
explain what you will bring to his lab or institute. My tip here is to
link your CV to his profile. This way he would seriously consider you
as a candidate. Download CV format sample from www.hektips.com/resume
In the end, tell him that you
will be waiting for his response. Give regards and state your name at the end.
That’s it! You see, there is no
rocket science behind writing emails to the professors.
Just be concise, short, and to the point and you are good to go. I
hope it will help many students.