Applying for Positions
An unspoken rule in academia is that in order to get your first internship... you need to network! You want to do this in one of two ways, virtually (via email) or in person (via attending office hours).
Emailing
If you are someone that needs time to think about what to say, then cold emailing might be the way to go. This also is more applicable to research labs you want to join but haven't taken the course that the professor instructs yet. Therefore, this is the most preferred method from all parties.
If you are going to email a professor to ask to be in their lab, you want to emphasize four things:
- Your background
- Your passion for their research
- Your dedication to learn new skills
- What steps do you need to take to apply for a position?
This email should include specifics to their research, so you might want to read and reference a couple of their recent articles.
Once you've written your email, attach your CV and wait for their response! If they do not respond in a week, try to follow up.
Office Hours
Another way to gain a connection for a possible internship is through attending office hours with your preferred graduate student or professor.
Ask them questions about their research, how to prepare for graduate school, research papers to read... these questions will all show your dedication to the field (and they will provide useful information, so it's a win-win)!
Once you've established a decent relationship with your mentor, ask them if there is a possibility to become an undergraduate research assistant in their lab.
If they reject you, they can likely still recommend you to another lab that is similar in interest! So not only have you gained a possible recommendation, but you also gained experience with networking in your field.