How do you approach a potential research prof?

[Soenuedo]

Hey everyone,

 

I wanted to get involved with summer research, and there is one prof in particular who I am interested in working with. People tell me he's a cool guy and all, but I still don't know how I should approach him to be "ahead of the game"? Here at U of T, i've been told that a lot of the research positions are already filled by the time most people actually start applying, and so I wanted to get a head start.

 

Luckily, a PhD student on his full-time research team was my lab TA from last semester and happened to remember me well. He is writing me a reference letter (not sure if this is required, but i thought it would be beneficial), and I am also planning on writing a resume and a cover letter. What I'm not sure about is whether I should approach the professor in person (ie. go to his office) and tell him that I am interested in working in his lab, and personally hand in the letter/resume? I don't want to be seen as too desperate or upfront, but I'm not familiar with the application process... What did you guys do for your first time?

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions! It's mucho appreciated

[treejuice1]

I'm sure everyone has different approaches that work for them, but I've always emailed the prof with the email being kind of like the cover letter and I attach my resume and unofficial transcript as PDFs. I did this last summer and emailed about 10 PIs and got about 5 replies (most said that their lab was full already) and 1 job out of it I think going to the prof in person is a bit pushy, but you may want to if he's the only one you want to work with because it's very easy for them to ignore an email. Good luck!

[charmer08]

Don't restrict yourself to just one prof.

 

And you're only suppose to attach a resume and your transcript to the email. A cover letter and a reference letter is a bit too much imo. Also, email works better than in person, unless you're applying for an existing position.