<p>So i have a bunch of work experience (government) which i got through my school's co-op system. My school's co-op is only good at getting government work and I want to try a private firm this time. This requires me to look outside the co-op system.</p>
<p>So far, my strategy is just to look up environmental firms (junior enviro here) and email them. It hasn't been too sucessful so far, only 3 of the 30 i've tried responded and 2 of those were 'no' and one of them was asking me to email hr. </p>
<p>So i'm wondering if anyone has written cold emails before? what do i write? Right now, i'm writing pretty much </p>
<p>"dear ____ representative</p>
<p>I'm a junior environmental engineering student at ___ school in ___. I'm interested in a summer position. Who should i contact about this?"</p>
<p>does anyone have any tips? it would be really useful!
thanks!</p>
<p>Maybe give a little background about yourself, some courses you have taken, a transcript, your prior experiences, and of course a resume. You can try the oil companies, they have a general application that you fill out with your area of interest. I know they're big on environmental stuff.</p>
<p>Also try your search on indeed.com for internships.</p>
<p>Other than that, the only place I know that advertises is the government (local and federal). If you are ever looking for an entry level position that is the best place to go. I know my local government is constantly looking for Environmental Specialists and the starting pay is good too.</p>
<p>Yeah, definitly expand on that letter. It's a good idea though.</p>
<p>Other thoughts;
1. Ask your professors, many of them have or do contract to private companies
2. Look into your alumni association; many graduates of your university will be more than willing to help
3. Indeed and other job boards are a good idea
4. Join AEESP and attend their mixers
5. Post your resume</p>
<p>
[quote]
Your email has to be more of a cover letter. Use it to market yourself to the employer instead of just asking a question.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes. This.</p>
<p>Think "sales" rather than "inquiry". You're selling your skills. Tell them why they absolutely positively can't survive without hiring you, while being genuine and not going overboard (it's a tricky balance to strike).</p>
<p>Calls work better than letters. Letters and e-mails work, on average, about equally (some companies prefer one over the other). Give it a shot; you never know what'll stick. I got hired to my first internship because I was in the Rice band, whose antics my former bosses absolutely adored, and the initial contact started with a cold call. I later parlayed that connection into a job for a friend of mine, so TWO jobs were actually gotten with that first cold call! They sometimes work, but you have to be persuasive.</p>
<p>My line of thought right now is just sending them that short email which should tell me IF they're looking for summer students. I don't think all companies hire summer students. I'm hoping for them to reply telling me who i should address my cover letter and resume to.</p>
<p>So i'm gonna start my 2nd round of companies soon but before that I was hoping to get more thoughts from you guys.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of keeping my short letter right now for 2 reasons</p>
<p>1) i don't know if companies really want to read a cover letter right off the bat
2) with this short letter i can do more companies faster (eg copy and paste) and i don't need to change it for each company whereas i might have to for a longer email.</p>
<p>But i'm not sure my plan is working due to the low amount of replies I'm getting.</p>
<p>It isn't really internship season yet, so that might be why you're not getting a lot of replies. I went to an enormous career fair at my school a few weeks ago and most companies told me to wait until January and some even told me to wait 'till April. Its a good idea to start early but mostly just so you know the companies you're really interested in. Also, I'm not sure whether emailing individuals (recruiters?) is a good idea.</p>
<p>I suggest you go through your school's career center or something similar. I have been told to apply for internships by going to company websites and submitting resume's and/or applying for specific internship positions listed on their websites that I'm interested in. But again, there just aren't that many right now (most companies are still scrambling to hire for full time positions), so I'll wait a month or so and look again and apply to what looks good.</p>
<p>Also, attend career fairs (my school will have one geared at internships soon and then one in spring when companies come looking for interns), and go to other company showcases if any are held on campus. If you do all this, as a junior with a decent GPA and experience, you should have a reasonable chance of getting an internship.</p>
<p>My experience is from electrical engineering, however, so YMMV.</p>
<p>Cover letter don't have to be (and shouldn't be) long. Maybe 2 paragraphs should be good. </p>
<p>This short letter format that you used before doesn't give any reason for companies to hire you. A cover letter for the most part doesn't HAVE to be specific to each company, but of course if it is, it helps. In your letter, let them know you'd be interested in such and such position and why you'd be good for the company.</p>
<p>Don't get lazy when it comes to looking for jobs. Spend the extra minute or two making your letter company specific. It's doesn't take that much more time.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies. With all these companies that i don't hear from, when would be a good time to follow up? I've applied to some big companies through thier online applications. When i replied they sent me an automatic email saying they recieved my application but i haven't heard from them since. This was a few weeks ago. Is now a good time to follow up?</p>
<p>so i sent some more cold emails. Does anyone know whats the average response rate? so far i'm sitting at about 5/30. Most of these responses are either 'no' or we'll keep your resume on hand. Nothing even close to an interview yet...</p>
<p>Most of the suggestions here is what people commonly do. Nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>Just be patient and be persistent. It takes times, especially in this times (close to holiday season and slow economy). Good luck and best wishes.</p>