Vikramaditya Kumar Taneja

How to convert your dream internship through cold e-mailing:

Throughout my college life, I've been able to convert my dream internships at EY, Ogilvy, Indian Institute of Management, Shillong, and other big firms. I have been able to achieve this through networking and cold emailing.

Infact, my incoming internship at Nykaa too, was converted via a cold e-mail :D

I felt like sharing some of my learnings in this post:

Components of a successful cold e-mail:

Attractive Subject Line:
- the sole factor which will determine whether your e-mail will be even opened or not
- experiment with different subject lines; discover what works for you
- clickbait can be tried too (though be mindful to apologise and clarify for the same)
- being witty has personally worked for me

Concise Body:
- Brevity is of essence.
- Ensure that the e-mail is not more than a 20-30 second read.
- communicate why you are a fit in a brief manner.

Structured Format:
- Each paragraph should be meaningful and add value to your candidature
- Basic format: start with introduction; subsequently explain why you and how can you contribute; end with a CTA and thanking note

Bonus content:
- mention spike factors in the body (internship at big firms, any fancy POR's, founded a start-up, etc)
- read the description and mention your internships / learnings according to the same
- try to add a personalised bitly link of your resume instead of attaching a PDF, it increases your chances of not going to spam
- if you have a mutual connection, referral, or someone at the same role / office, who's told you to mention them, then do so

Comment your e-mail address and like this post, if you'd like to receive a template which I've made for the same.

If you'd like to see more such content, then feel free to connect with me! Have a good day!

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Edit:

I am overwhelmed with the sheer response and love, that this post has gotten! It's gratifying to see that a lot of students and professionals have benefited from some of the points that I've shared here.

This post has also made me realise that a lot of freshers, students, and individuals seek to improve their outreaching skills. LinkedIn is such an incredible platform, and it's amazing to see how everybody wants to up-skill and improve!

This experience has given me the impetus and encouragement to share my thoughts, and learnings with the wonderful audience present here! Looking forward for the content journey ahead! Let's grow together :D

P.S.
Since I've recieved more than 2000+ comments, it'll definitely take me a bit of time to send it to everyone. I'll try to release the template in batches, so please bear with me! Thank you so much for all the love and support again!

#internships #coldemailing #content #networking

Why I'd choose Shaheed Bhagat Singh College over Shri Ram College of Commerce or any other Tier 1 College in DU if given a chance to do college all over again:

A while back, I had a conversation with Anuja Goel wherein she talked about colleges and how being from SBSC was a key factor in all what I've done and how it might havent been the case if I was at SRCC.

A lot of my experiences which have shaped me were due to the fact that I was in SBSC.

Being from a Tier-2 college, we didn't have a lot of opportunities coming my way. Moreover, seeing other peers from various colleges excel and get different opportunities instilled a very deep resolve in me to achieve the same milestones.

Moreover, my stint at entrepeneurship was something which arose out of my experience at SBSC, which might have not been the case at SRCC.

From having the opportunity to founding 2+ societies to my entrepeneurial stint (DU Connect and Blue-Leaves Community) to my internships (EY, NITI Aayog, Ogilvy, Nykaa, Urban Company, and IIM Shillong) to content creation to my other stints were possible because of my curiosity and drive, something deeply rooted to my stint at SBSC.

Sometimes the dearth of opportunities coupled with the right mentorship, drive, and curiosity can pave the way for success. Besides, who doesn't love an underdog story!

If you're from a lesser known college, you can still achieve the same feats as that of someone from a higher ranked college. You just need to identify the right opportunities, stay driven, and be consistent

For everyone who's not made it into their dream college's yet, please do not fret! Your college's brand can only help so much. Ultimately your college life will be contingent on what you make out of it.

Don't wait for opportunities, create them :D

Fun Fact:
While, I didn't make it to SRCC, I was invited as a keynote speaker to guide the students of SRCC while still being a final year student myself :)