Kristiana Kahakauwila

Master of Fine Arts

Joseph Arthur Renwick Mechanical Engineering Cornell University

    Go to your professors' office hours, no matter how shy you may be. It makes all the difference for how much you will love or hate a class. This should be for every class, starting during your first semester of your freshman year. The best recommendation letters four years later will come from the professors who've known you the longest and are the most committed to your success. Nothing irks a professor (or a TA, for that matter) so much as committing several hours outside of class to students and having no reciprocal commitment from them. If you show up, it communicates your interest in the class, identifies you as a student who is committed to his or her education, and puts a face to your name. None of those things can hurt you or your standing in the class.

Georgetown University

    Go see your professors during their office hours! Many students do not avail themselves of this benefit. Few things are more rewarding to a faculty member than having an interested student in class, and meeting them one and one will build a relationship with them. I made it a point to always go to office hours for each professor I had at least once a semester. Frequently, I would discuss my upcoming paper topic with them and always left with valuable resources and advice. Usually, the discussion helped me hone my topic and develop my thesis question and often gave me a new perspective on the subject.

    In addition, meeting my professors face to face let them know who I was. Therefore, if I emailed or called, the professor immediately knew which student I was. Since few students at my university take advantage of office hours, students who do distinguish themselves as interested in the course work and subject matter. Faculty are more likely to give such students the benefit of the doubt in grading in addition to writing better recommendation letters for them.

University of Massachusetts Boston

Letters of Recommendation

Some great advice has been given on acquiring letters of recommendations from other members. One element that I wanted to include would be to make sure that the time of the individual you are requesting the recommendation is respected. Plan well in advance if applying for scholarships or programs so you will be able to give sufficient notice to the individual that you are requesting the recommendation from. This works well not only in the academic environment but in the professional environment as well.

It is also beneficial to keep a record of recommendations acquired and a list of those that are willing to submit recommendations on your behalf so you have it readily available when needing a new recommendation. I have often asked additional references than necessary just in case the preferred recommender has a schedule that is too intense at the time. Many will be receptive of stepping up in the event that the best option for the recommendation is not able to provide it. Respect is a lost art and those that are extremely busy are very appreciative when those needing something are mindful to be respectful of their time as well.

Marjeanna Faye Burge Master of Indigenous Nations and Peace & Conflict Studies University of Kansas

Curriculum Vitae:

    Leverage your university career services to help hone your resume-writing skills. Most students don't even know that such a resource exits, but career services is enormously invaluable. Not only to they provide resume and job-hunting tips, but they also possess connections with job recruiters. Go early and go often. Since most internships start accepting applications in January, start thinking about constructing your resume in November. Once you have a rough draft, bring it to your career services office to have someone look over it. Some of the staff there were once recruiters and thus have a vast bank of knowledge about how to revise resume and make them stand out. For those students who are apprehensive about allowing a stranger critique a resume, don't worry. First, that's a completely natural feeling to have. Second, the staff isn't there to judge your resume accomplishments in comparison to other students who use the service. They are there to give you advice, and the advice they give is often extremely valuable.

Anna Peng

Economics

Princeton University

    If you are planning in getting into a graduate program, it is best to get to know a few of your professors really well so that they have an idea of who you are and what goals you have for yourself. In many instances, I have found that not only can these professors provide letters of recommendation, they have also provided extra information about my field that is not taught in the classroom. For instance, one of my speech pathology professors gave out her home phone number and let me know that even when I graduate from graduate school and am out working, I can always call her for any questions. It is not only special, but it is important to have support that can further your success.

Kristen Harris University of Tennessee

    Letters of Recommendation are a must in the world of career searching. Every interview you have will follow with the question, “Do you have any letters of recommendation?” The perfect response is always, “Why of course I have several.” The key word there is several. One letter just won’t do it. A letter of recommendation makes your possible future employer see that someone thought highly enough of you to write a few words about you. Letters of recommendation should come from teachers, professors, previous employers, coaches, etc. Bottom line it needs to be someone who knows you and your work ethic. Don’t wait until it’s time to start looking for a job to get letters of recommendation together. Do it now! Start making a collection, so that you’re not trying to pull them together at the last minute. If someone is writing a letter of recommendation, you want them to have plenty of time to think about their choice of words instead of having to slop it down. I keep a portfolio with all of mine that I have collected over the years, and it has come in handy on more than one occasion.

Crystal Nichole Mille

Texas A&M

Most graduate programs require two or more letters of recommendations. I learned that choosing who recommends you is challenging. You need to choose someone that you know well, someone that writes with authority, they know how you work, they can describe you in a positive way, they have a high opinion of you, they know your goals, they are well known in the community, and they can write a good letter.

My college required us to turn in three recommendations. Since the writers had to summit the letters to the college, I asked six people instead of three. This way I did not worry if one person did not fulfill their commitment. I asked two college professors, my employment supervisor, internship supervisor, a friend with a PhD, and a friend who is a LCSW.

I made an appointment to speak with my letter writers. I gave them plenty of time to write the letters. I provide a file with some of my background information:

• transcript
• resume
• admissions essays
• applying for MSW Advance Standing
• research experiences
• internship experiences
• honor societies I belong to
• awards I have won
• work experience
• professional goals
• due date for the application
• copy of the application recommendation forms

The college I applied to accepted me in the Advance Standing MSW Program.

 

Brooke Alston Jennings Master of Science in Social Work Radford University

When you ask someone for a letter of recommendation, obviously, you hope and believe that the person will put you in a positive light. However, chances are, the person you ask will not know all aspects of your life – all your accomplishments and activities. For instance, a professor may know you only academically – in his particular classes. An employer probably knows only what you have done in that position.

Make it as easy as possible for the person who writes you a recommendation! Take the time to write down your accomplishments and activities in all aspects of your life. If you keep it on a Word document, you can continually add to the list. This will give your recommender more to write about so that you are put in the best possible light. Believe me, they will be grateful for the assistance and you will end up with a recommendation that truly displays your strengths.

Carissa K. Goodlet Master of Educational Administration Youngstown State University

Curriculum Vitae:

•When to use curriculum vitae: when applying for academic, education, scientific or research positions or applying for fellowships or grants.

•Choose an appropriate format: make sure you choose a format that is appropriate for the position to which you are applying.

•What to include: work history, education, professional qualifications, awards, publications, books, professional memberships, and interests.

•What not to include: do not include your photo, salary history or references in your CV. References should be listed separately and given to employers upon request.

•Keep it simple: keep it short and concise while using well-written language.

•Be honest: although it may be tempting to embellish your qualifications, it’s often best to stay honest. Stretching the truth may come back to haunt you.

Jamie Tidwell Master of Health Administration The University of Memphis

At some point in time you will certainly need a professor, former teacher, or friend to write a letter to someone or some company on your behalf. It may be for scholarships, graduate school applications, or to secure a job with the company of your choice. Regardless of what the letter is for, if it is written appropriately it may carry as much weight as your grade point average. If it is not, then it may not help you at all (and can possibly hurt you). One of the most important things to remember is that the best letters of recommendation take time. Give anyone you ask to write such a letter AT LEAST three work days to get the letter done. If they do not have enough time to write a quality letter, this hurts you tremendously.

The first step to securing an effective, well written letter of recommendation (LOR) is to find the best person to write such a letter for you. When choosing who you will ask consider the following:
1) Does this person know me well enough to write a convincing letter on my behalf? If you have doubts, pick someone else.

2) Is this person intelligent enough to write a grammatically correct, coherent LOR about me? This is not to sound arrogant, but some people are not strong writers. Just because the person is "sweet and nice and loves you to pieces" does not mean they are the best person to write a letter on your behalf. Pick someone who has demonstrated to you in some way that he/she can write fairly well.

3) Does this person seem willing and interested in writing the letter? When you ask someone to write an LOR they will almost always say, "Sure, I will be glad to write it." If the person seems hesitant or disinterested, ask someone else.

4) Finally, make sure this person is someone who genuinely likes you. If you have any doubts what this person might write about you, ask someone else. Sometimes, the people who write LORs are contacted by those who they are writing to for questions. If they did not say wonderful things about you in the letter, they will likely not say wonderful things about you on the phone or by email. This can spell disaster for you.

Once you have found the best reference person, the next step for you to take is to provide this person with some ammunition about you. Sure, they know your name and the basics about you, but provide them with a brief single-page fact sheet about your accomplishments and academics. Focus on your strengths. If you have a terrible GPA, do not mention it (but if you have a great one...mention it first thing!). Mention the fact that you have perfect attendance, were on the Dean's List, were recognized at your part-time job for good performance, you lead a youth group at church, you coach an intramural soccer team, or any number of other accomplishments. Fill up an entire page and give it to this person. Include your address and contact information on this sheet. Also, give them a stamped, addressed envelope to mail the letter directly to the person requesting it. It is customary that you may never read the letter yourself. (This is another reason that it is so important to select the best people to write these letters.)

The next step is to leave the person alone for at least three days and let them write the letter. If the opportunity presents itself it is not considered rude to ask this person if they had an opportunity to finish the letter. They will likely say that they have already mailed it and might even offer you a copy of the letter.
It is considered poor etiquette to request a copy of the letter before they mail it. You do not get a chance to "proof read" the letter typically. Sometimes references are extra considerate and allow you to peak at it before it is mailed.

The final step is to mail this person a "thank you" card for their time and consideration. Just saying
"thanks" when you spoke to them is not enough. Mail them a card at the very least.

* NOTE: If you are given a standard form for a person (reference) to complete, follow the same aforementioned criteria. The only difference is that the reference does not need strong writing skills to complete checklists. However, many checklist evaluations also include a section of free response comments about your character, strengths, or weaknesses. Writing skills are important in those areas of the reference form.
 

Jonathon Fields

PhD, Educational Leadership

East Tennessee State University

Letters of recommendation are useful in a variety of contexts: applying for jobs, applying to graduate/professional schools, applying for scholarships, etc. Each use will require different letters. As such, you should prepare for each situation in advance. It's difficult and often awkward to get in contact with a professor or employer from three years ago to solicit a recommendation for a purpose you couldn't predict. It's far better if you have a stock of letters - either in sealed envelopes, or held by your college guidance office - to use for situations as they arise.

You will need a mix of three kinds of letters: academic, extracurricular, and professional. For academic letters, higher positions are generally better (so full professors are superior to lecturers, who are superior to teaching assistants), but it is critical to get teachers who know you well. For extracurricular letters, choose a coach or team leader who knows your achievements well and is ready to speak about them as well as your passion and work ethic. For professional letters, employers do not need to be famous, but should rather speak to your knowledge of the field, your enthusiasm, your ability to learn, and the quality of your work.

After each situation (at the end of a job, after receiving your grade in a class, or once you near completion of an extracurricular activity), get a generic letter from the recommender. You can save it and send it off as is when an urgent need arises - but it's better if you can get the recommender to save a digital copy of the recommendation and modify it slightly to fit the use to which you will put it. Then you'll never have to hunt down your old boss from five years ago and force him to remember you; everything will be set for easy submission!
 

Alex Harris Harvard University

This was always a daunting task to me when I was just starting out, but now that I have several years under my belt (not to mention a bunch of letters of recommendation I have written!), it doesn't seem so bad. A well-written letter of recommendation from the right person can be the key that unlocks the door to your dream job so you had better be prepared! Plan ahead so that even before your job interview you have have letters of reference or a list of references that you can give to prospective employers should they ask. Being prepared in this way will also reflect very well on you.

Who to ask for references?
Most employers will want to check with a minimum of two, possibly three references so have at least that many available. Make sure you ask dependable and responsive people who can adequately vouch for you and your work experience. It is okay to use references other than your employer. Teachers, counselors/advisors and customers are also appropriate sources to use. If you leave a position, you should try to get a letter of recommendation from your manager/boss. This way you will have something if a long period of time passes. People may change jobs and then you will not know where to contact that person down the road for a reference.

How do you ask for a letter of recommendation?
How you phrase the question is of the utmost importance. Don't simply ask the person if they can write a letter for you. Ask them instead if they feel they know your work well enough to write you a GOOD letter of recommendation. This way you'll be sure to have someone who is enthusiastic and who will write a positive letter. Offer the person a copy of your resume so they have some other information to work with as well.

Make sure your prospective employer has your permission to contact your current boss so as not to jeopardize your job!

Karen Leary

Master of Science in Nursing

West Chester University