Interview Preparation Series
You are one cold email away from your dream internship — here’s why
As per data, the conversion rate of cold emails stands at 15.11% in 2020.
So what is cold emailing anyway?
It is “a tactic that focuses on sending relevant, personalized emails to people [with whom] you’ve previously had no contact.”
Cold emails can help you stand out from the crowd while doing the same scroll, cut-paste-copy routine that most job/internship seekers engage in.
They can be hard, considering that you have no relationship with the recipient and the lack of non-verbal feedback. But they can work well, provided that the communication is effective.
For writing any cold-email to someone (in your case it may be for an internship/job) follow these simple steps to write emails that convert:
1. Do your research
Make a list of the companies you wish to apply to. Visit each company’s website and browse current openings to get a feel for their needs. Find the “contact us” section, and find the contact information for human resources or the department you wish to apply to. You can try getting the contact details from LinkedIn as well.
Identifying the right person to contact is one of the most important steps.
2. Cracking the subject and opening lines
Keep the subject of the email concise. Subject lines with 98–111 characters have an open rate of 54% —the highest among all.
Having the company name in the subject line is makes it personalized naturally more eye-catching. It also prevents the email from coming off as too generic or spammy.
The opening lines should concentrate on the research that you’ve compiled—about the position, company or the market. Being specific, with knowledge about these sets you apart and makes the email more personalized.
3. Your pitch
Tell the recipient who you are, where you study/work, how you got their information, why you are interested in the company, and the particular role. This may pique their interest and give them a reason to continue reading your cold email.
You can then include the relevant experiences you have in the field. Talk about one/two things that make you stand out and make sure that include numbers.
For eg: “I managed to build an SMS-recommendation system that allows disabled people to chat easily, which is now being used by 100K+ people.”
4. Include a single CTA at the end of the email
Briefly mention what you want from them. Reduce the load of replying by keeping it simple.
Ask for a single action at the end of the email such as a Yes/No or a link to schedule a call.
5. Follow-up
This can make or break. Following up shows that you really care about the opportunity and are willing to be patient about taking it ahead. Ideally, 2–3 times are your green zone, post which your chances of hearing back are ~0.
Additional tips:
- Send your email at a convenient time: Try to send the email on a weekday around mid-morning if possible.
- Make your subject line appealing and keep your email short.
- Talk about aligned interests and values: Discuss some of the things that are interesting to you about the work the company does and why you will fit into the role.
- Proofread your email.
- Follow up, but be non-invasive.
Before you ponder again about how powerful cold-emails can be, we’ll leave you with this:
[For the uninitiated, Evan is the Founder & CEO of Snapchat Inc.]
You can find some templates here. Remember to make it personal.
