Cold e-mail. Language??

I plan to write a cold e-mail to a company I am very interested in.

I got the mail of the guy I will send the email. He is the VP in the division I would be interested, same major as me in college (different country) and same graduate program from another school in US (but comparable ranking). I can't think of anyone better there. I have found a few interviews in newspapers and Youtube (in English and our native language) and he looks like a cool guy I would get along with to follow up mails/calls if there is some opportunity.

We have the same native language (yet he is from another different European country). The company is American, we are both in the US, but a good chunk of their business is in those Euro countries.

So which language would u use?

- English. That would show him that I write and speak English and I understand the rules of courtesy when writing an email (which are different in any language and country, it is not just translating) but on the other hand I have gone to grad school in the US and worked 3 years in English-speaking countries. The guy might think I am plain dumb to use English when we would feel more confortably in our language.

- Native language? I am afraid he might think this is too familiar (we don't know each other) and at the end of the day we are in an English -speaking professional environment in the US.

What would you do?

5 Comments
 

English.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

doesn't work but then again never tried it. why not just pick up the phone.

-Gorilla A. ------------------- “I've forgotten who I had lunch with earlier, and even more important, where.” ― Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho
 
nonosHell no, why would you write to him in english? Aren't you looking for ways to relate to him? Go for your native language and just be polite and deferential. That's what I do and it's been working great

Thanks. It never happened to me to write to someone who had the same native language as me here in the States. I think I will do that.

 

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