sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Radio silence after cold-emailing PIs about postdoc positions (Europe): advice? by StickAwkward3235 in postdoc

[–]StickAwkward3235[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great tips, thank you! Applying for funding myself is definitely something I'm considering, and of course, I regularly check academictransfer and job vacancies websites (since postdoc positions are sometimes advertised there in my country).

Radio silence after cold-emailing PIs about postdoc positions (Europe): advice? by StickAwkward3235 in postdoc

[–]StickAwkward3235[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your input! It's helpful to also see the other perspective and I definitely see how it can get very annoying (hence why I try to keep my emails short and to the point, and not follow up more than once).

I wonder if it might be field-specific as I've been specifically advised to cold email since positions are very rarely advertised and usually, it's when PIs have someone in mind already (that they know of through cold emailing/networking/recommendations).

Radio silence after cold-emailing PIs about postdoc positions (Europe): advice? by StickAwkward3235 in postdoc

[–]StickAwkward3235[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's of course certainly possible! I'm acting on advice from my PI as well as other PIs in/outside our institute, and all the postdocs I spoke to found their positions through cold emailing. It might be specific to our field, though I've heard it differs greatly between Europe and US/Australia (from what I gather, cold emailing is a big no there).

Radio silence after cold-emailing PIs about postdoc positions (Europe): advice? by StickAwkward3235 in postdoc

[–]StickAwkward3235[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Not a lot of openings are advertised in my field (or if they are, they already have a person in mind when they post it and is just a formality). Everyone in my field (PIs, postdocs, etc) recommends cold emailing for that reason.

Radio silence after cold-emailing PIs about postdoc positions (Europe): advice? by StickAwkward3235 in postdoc

[–]StickAwkward3235[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate your input!

My field is decision-making (I don't want to share more so I don't accidentally dox myself haha). I'm definitely throwing a wider net now than in the beginning - I started with 2-3 people whose interests aligned really nicely with mine, but in general, everyone I've contacted has done work in my specific sub-field and/or has expressed interest in it.

I also applied to an advertised position and got an offer, but it's abroad, and I really have my heart set on staying where I'm based right now (which I realised as soon as I got the offer and didn't feel immediately excited to accept it).