Applying for postdoc: the letter

Most of the time the PIs that you want to work for don't really know you that well, even if you have talked to him or her a couple of times before. So how do you write the first email to him saying that you want to work in his or her lab? What I have done is simple, it is so simple that maybe it is not really worth mentioning: I just tell him/her what I am asking for in this email (two lines), my PhD project (a short paragraph), why I am interested in his/her work (a couple of lines), and then conclude by saying something like visiting his/her lab. I kept it really short and simple, because these people probably have tons of emails everyday and they don't really want the story of your life. Most importantly, attach your CV. That's probably the first thing they want to see anyway.