Emailing professors for an interview about joining them for research

[dolerka]

I went to my current physics professor and asked about starting to do some research. She gave me a list of the research experimental faculty and said to email them just asking if they would be interested in having me, and asking to meet with them in person.

I am just wondering on exactly what i should write. I want to keep it short sweet.

So does anyone have an outline for writing an email like this or just some advice?

 

[fss]

Be polite, be professional. Thank them for their time, and don't expect a timely response. Spell check. It would be better to do some background research and only e-mail those professors whose research you are truly interested in.

 

[twofish-quant]

Also, you should mention that you are working for Professor X and that she recommended that you contact them. It would also be a good idea to have your professor take a look at your e-mail before sending it and and make sure that it's cc'ed to her. The send line should include only the professor you are sending the e-mail to, and the professor that did the recommendation and no one else. People are much less likely to respond to a mass mailing.

This will make a huge difference in that someone is much more likely to reply if they know that you aren't some random person.

The other thing is that if the professor is someone in your school or nearby, you might find out when they have office hours and just drop in. Don't do a full interview, but you can chat face-to-face for a few minutes to set up something later.

Also, make sure that you send out the e-mail a few at a time. If you got a list of 20 people, then send them out three to five each week, starting with the one's you are most interested in. The reason for this is that you don't want a situation where you have to respond and set up ten meetings at the same time.