Posted by ‘Tis the season for writing reference letters. I get lot of requests for these for reasons that range from graduate school applications to resident assistant and job related inquiries. For the most part, I am happy to write them. If you want me to write you a letter:
First, read this.
If after reading that, you think I can write you a strong letter of recommendation, ask me. I will probably say yes (as you read in the link above, it’s part of my job). Then, send me:
- Your resume*
- An unofficial transcript*
- A short list of 2-3 things you want to make sure I highlight in the letter*
- Deadlines for any and all letters
- A list of places to which you plan to apply or seek employment, so I’m prepared for phone calls and email requests
*Preferably, I have these things 2-3 weeks before they are due so I have can budget time to write you a great letter.
Finally, I’m pretty good at getting things in on time, but PLEASE remind me. Remind me 1 week before, then 1 day before, any critical deadlines. A lot of the automated emails that are sent by universities, employers, etc. hit my spam or other email filters and I never see them. If you remind me, I can search for them. Then, follow up with whatever online recommendation system or employer you are working with to make sure they got the letter I uploaded/emailed/sent.