Can you write me a letter of recommendation?

As a young scientist, you often need a letter of recommendation for a school application or new job. Here is some of the advice I’ve given over the years.

(I use the word job in the following but applications for graduate school and prizes are quite similar.)

Who should I ask?

Letters from senior colleagues that you have worked with are best – your transcript says how well you did in class, but only a person who knows you well can vouch for your intelligence, creativity and your ability to work with others and to complete projects.

But should I ask Professor Big Shot or my direct supervisor?

It is best to have a mix of people who know you very well and renowned people who are familiar with your work.

Will they write me a good letter?

I wouldn’t ask a potential reference directly if the letter will be good, but it is important to ask them if they are willing to write for you.  It is sometimes wise to ask others if person X writes good letters in general.

Even more important, is person X so absent-minded that they forget to write?

If a potential reference seems a bit evasive when asked, that’s a signal to ask elsewhere.

If a potential reference is the supervisor of one of your direct competitors for a job, they are likely to say no for that round, as there would be a conflict of interest. But you could ask again once the conflict no longer exists.

What can I do to make this work well?

Give your letter writers information about you in an easy-to-use format

1. First discuss the process with your advisor or some other trusted person. If possible, have them read and comment on all of your materials and on your choice of references.
2. Start the process at least a month before the first deadline in the process.
3. Schedule a meeting to talk with each of your references about your recent work and what you are applying for.
4. Provide electronic copies of
   1. Your Resume – you may get useful feedback
   2. Your candidate statement
   3. Links to your recent work
   4. It’s useful to provide an informal list of your recent accomplishments.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see all you’ve done.
5. If there are extenuating circumstances (a long illness that affected grades would be an example) your reference may be able to discuss them in a letter more effectively than you could in your resume.

Provide references with information about the application process

1. Deadlines.
2. Contact information for sending the letter, explaining the method.
3. Any special interests you may have in that particular job.

Note: sending a copy of the job listing is not sufficient, as those are mainly intended for applicants not references.

Read the application information – is there particular information (start date, salary, conference details, research specialty, special web site to post the recommendation) that needs to be included but is not in the information you have already provided?  Your letter writer is probably multi-tasking and if they have to stop and ask you for more information, you may not get back to the top of their to-do list for several days.

Note: if a paper recommendation is required, it is considered polite to provide paper copies of any forms, with your information filled in, and addressed stamped envelopes to ensure that your reference doesn’t have to drive to the library to find a printer or to  the post office to buy a stamp on Sunday before the deadline.

Send a polite reminder one week ahead of the deadline

1. One week before the deadline, check with the program administrator to see if  materials have been received from your references and if not send a polite reminder to your references about the due date.
2. Make certain that the application site is ready to receive references at least a week before the deadline!!

Other advice

Start the application process early, perhaps even starting with particularly interesting positions a year in advance. Your references will then have a letter already written when the big crunch comes.

If using services such as academicjobsonline which require references to access a special website, you must get the application set up well before the deadline. Nothing frustrates a letter writer more than carefully preparing a letter and then being unable to submit it because the candidate has not completed an important part  of the application process. If you are delayed, alert your references to the delay.

Ask for specific, as opposed to generic, letters if possible. References often compare you to others and they cannot safely do so in a generic letter.