How can I apply for Post Doc in Mechanical Engineering?

Etiquette for contacting possible post-doc opportunity

• I'm about to finish my PhD this coming Spring in the U.S., and although the funding I received was specifically for creating "practitioners" I'd actually like to sharpen my research and publication skills via a post-doc. The thing is, most researchers in my area are in the U.K. How do I introduce myself to them? I am finishing a Ph.D. and was funded with the expectation that I would develop skills for possible policy positions in a healthcare and education-related field. This was fine, but, I found that I like research in my field! Because of this I have an interesting background but my publication record is pretty slim. So, a post-doc is the way to go, right? The problem is, I'm in the U.S., and many of the top researchers in my areas of interest are in the U.K. And, since they are in the U.K., there is little chance to meet them at a conference and none of my professors know any of them. So, I'd have to reach out to them myself to enquire about post-doc positions. UK or higher-ed mefites: can you give me any advice at all about how to contact a few of these individuals? Should I do this? If so, how? Is cold-emailing a potential post-doc a good idea? What should I tell them without sounding entitled or pretentious? Has anybody done this to you, and if so, what worked or didn't? Is there British-specific etiquette I should know about?

• Answer:

  I'm in a different academic field from you, but in my field it's quite normal to cold-email professors to ask about postdoc opportunities. I receive email like this at least once a week. I read these emails, because maybe there could be someone interesting out there who could contact me. Usually, however, the emails I get are horrible. Make sure you send one that isn't horrible. Here is my advice for making a postdoc inquiry email bad: - send it addressed to the wrong name or misspell the person's name - send it to someone in a totally different field which has no connection to your own - don't include basic information like your CV - make the email obviously a mass email sent to every professor in the UK - include typos in the email - include way too much information about yourself, like attaching transcripts and copies of everything you've ever written Here is my advice for making a postdoc inquiry email good: - include basics about who you are and what you do right at the beginning ("I'm a PhD student at Univ X in Dept Y working on Theory of Z with Prof A") - attach a CV, which should include references (even if those UK professors don't know your adviser personally, they are likely to know your adviser's work or may know someone else on your committee) - explain exactly why you are interested in working with the person you are addressing, making it clear you have done your homework about that person ("I learned about your research on X when I read your paper "Why X is Awesome" in the Journal of X Studies. I'm writing to you because I found your insights into X intriguing, and one of my interests is to broaden my research on Y by incorporating the perspective of X") - ask explicitly if they work with postdocs and if they are interested in taking on a new postdoc in your timeframe (fall 2014?) - show that you've done some homework on possible ways to fund the postdoc that don't require them to pay you. I'm not sure what's available in your field that might fund US-UK research exchange, maybe a Fulbright? If that applies then ask if they would be willing to sponsor you for Whatever Fellowship - ask about postdoc fellowship/other funding opportunities at their institution