Sending an unsolicited request for information over email, or what’s called a cold email, to a hiring manager is an effective way for Ph.D’.s to be proactive in the job search and get an edge for a job they really want. Making personal contact with a hiring manager increases the chances that your application will carefully considered when you apply for a position. That personal contact also grows your network in an organization for which you want to work.
But some cold emails are much more effective than others. Before I applied for my current position working with graduate students at University of Texas at Arlington, I looked up my current boss and sent her an email to indicate my interest in the position. She never responded, but I was interviewed and hired about a month later. I assumed that my cold email must have worked. Fast-forward six months: while preparing materials for a workshop on networking, I decided to ask my boss if she recalled my email and whether it helped me land the job. In fact, she hardly remembered receiving the email, but she pulled it out of her saved mailbox and looked it over in front of me.
“Oh yeah, I remember receiving this,” she said.
Awkward pause.
When searching for work, it is important to remember that employers are evaluating you on all aspects of the job search process. From the application to the interview, you always need to put your best foot forward. New research, however, shows that all too often, job candidates make myriad blunders that damage their chances of finding work.