Applications - unwanted - what to do with them? (May/04/2009 )

Dear all,

what do you do with unwanted email-applications from other countries for PhD work? They bring along own funding, great recommendatory letters and certificates. But I don't know them (and their abilities/knowledge) nor their supervising professors and the people that signed all the documents or if it's meant serious or just a mass-application sent to dozens of institutes...
Would you just refuse them, ignore them or ask for more information and invite for an interview?

hobglobin on May 4 2009, 05:48 AM said:

I'd ask and invite. My current prof does not just that - if they are really motivated, he leaves them for a period of trial work. In fact this is his primary way of checking candidates. I guess all depends on how much you need new grad students now, if you want to bother and how much guts does it get to say "no" if they suck.
However, I am just a student myself, so you can't take me all seriously :>

In a prior thread, I recommended to a poster that he/she send a real letter with a CV by regular mail rather than by email for exactly this reason -- a real letter takes some effort, and reflects well on the sender when compared to what amounts to essentially blasting labs with UCE at best, spam at worst.

If you like the application then just go for a telephonic interview and this way you can easily filter out a lot of applications.

You should also visit the recommenders web page and communicate with them over email or phone and gather information about the applicant.

Best,
TC

i'm assuming you don't have any open positions and these applications come to your email because people are interested to work there. if you don't have time to handle more students because of your current work then i'd reply (in case i was interested) that for the moment there are no open positions but eventually there will be and provide the expected time when this will happen. if you're not interested then just say there are no available positions and thank them for their interest in working at your lab.

hobglobin on May 4 2009, 03:48 PM said:

I quite agree with HomeBrew to ask them write application and get it sent to you by snail mail. If they are 'really' interested in your lab, they will take efforts but if its just mass mailing then you won't receive anything.
Now that you received snail-application, have a telephonic interview with the student. Get to know a student a bit, ask a few technical questions. If there is a possibility of video chat, like Skype or something, ask them to present their thesis work on powerpoint. (We had an Indian student presenting her work in MS Word. Just reading through the thesis. I was like, what the heck!!!) This way its interview + you know how good they are in their work. I would prefer video chat..
If you are impressed, contact the references. Phone calls are best. If you have to contact them by emails, check IP of your reply and try to trace IP. (We have had cases where the referee had mail ID of yahoo.com or hotmail.com and those 'students' themselves writing reference emails)
ASK for TOEFL score, including TSE. We have a very hard time with the students coming from Egypt, Libya with their spoken english. (No offense to any country or its citizens but its not their mother tongue so I can't expect them to be fluent, still it should be workable English)

Finally, don't be greedy. Just because you are getting self-funded students who will essentially work for free in your lab and save your grant money, so go for them, is not a right attitude. You don't sound like that for sure, still human mind takes quick flip-flops. We have a well settled PI, very greedy man. He always gets students from the middle east, Romania, Pakistan or Bangladesh who have their own money, hiding his money pot. Now he has a tough time with one of the student as student doesn't know what she claimed to know on CV and he can not fire her. Now, giving a hard time to her.. Even though both are at fault, you certainly don't want to bring such situation to your lab and you becoming a tea-time talk for the department.

P. S. - I really liked your signature by Epicurus, wish my boss would have leanrt this:(

hobglobin on May 4 2009, 05:48 AM said:

I have to admit I am one of those guilty that do that. I was wondering from a PI's point of view, what do you look for when takingin PhD students. Will PIs receive me better if I offered to work for them as a research assistant first?

Unless you really need them - do not respond to unsolicited email. No doubt you're merely part of a mass mailing.