Welcome to the Cold-Email Workshop!
By the time you finish going through our resources, you’ll hopefully have what it takes to successfully find an independent institutional laboratory position!
The first thing to understand as a high school student hoping to work in an institutional laboratory setting is that it is likely going to take many tries before you get an email that lands. Some might get lucky and find a position after only a few tries, others might need dozens before a positive response. Understand that this has nothing to do with how qualified you are but more to do with the fact that many PI’s are not interested in having a high schooler in the lab or cannot support it with their current resources.
Let’s look at some examples of ones that worked, and we’ll dive into what each one did well.
Example #1
Let’s analyze this example…
This email is both clear in its intent and relatively brief. Most PI’s are too busy to read long emails from outside the organization, so you want to make sure your email can be read in under a few minutes.
A major benefit that the writer of example #1 has is that he or she can copy and paste this email to send to multiple PI’s. Most of the time, PI’s have no obligation or motivation to accept high school students, so you will likely need to send many emails before getting a positive response.
The student clearly states why research is the next logical step. Make sure when writing your email that it is clear you have exhausted all your available resources, otherwise, the reader might wonder why you have not used more accessible learning material.
Lastly, this email is strong in the sense that it does not seem demanding. When reaching out to PI’s start with a smaller request like shadowing or sitting in on lab meetings as that opens the door for eventually joining the lab. PI’s might be hesitant to reply to an email that immediately asks to do an independent research project.
Example #2
Let’s analyze this example…
This email takes a very different yet also effective approach in soliciting PI’s for research experience. You’ll notice that this email is much longer than the first example. In this case, the writer clearly targeted a particular PI and did extensive background research. This shows dedication and a demonstrated interest to advancing the research interests of the PI, something that can greatly increase your chances of a successful cold email.
The student mentions areas that would be of interest to work in and even goes so far as to suggest future research directions. This shows not only a deep understanding of the information but also a strong drive and curiosity – characteristics that are essential to lab work.
Lastly, the student lists why he or she believes they are qualified and ready to pursue the next level of scientific education. It is important to make a compelling case for why the outside resource is needed. For example, if you are interest in biological science, PI’s will wonder why you are reaching out to them if you have not even taken AP biology (and scored well) first.