To My Students, Current and Former: Please read the following information when asking me (or another professor) for a letter of reference.
Good reference letters are crucial for getting a job, earning a scholarship, and gaining admission to graduate school. You begin the process of securing good references by making sure that your professors will have something nice to say about you when the crucial time comes. This process begins the moment you set foot on campus. “Sucking up” is not the goal here; rather, a conscientious, serious, and humble approach to your classwork and essay writing is the key to securing a good letter of reference. And you know that campus job for which you are grossly underpaid? Its real value may come in the opportunity to secure glowing references from those for whom you work.
Do not feel uncomfortable asking for a letter of reference from a professor. It is actually part of their job to write letters of reference on behalf of students, so do not think that you are bothering them.
Some further tips:
- Ask a professor who really knows your work to write your letter. In some cases, the professional status of the professor may trump familiarity, but in most cases, it is better to have a detailed letter from a professor who can speak concretely about your abilities than a generic letter from a superstar. And note that some professors may have a hard time writing a reference for you if you earned lower than a B in their class, unless some extraordinary circumstance exists.
- Request your letter of reference as soon as you know you will need one and clearly communicate its purpose and the deadline. Provide the correct contact information for the person to whom the letter should be addressed. Give your professor at least two weeks’ notice, if not more. Most students have no idea how long a professor spends on a good letter (in my case, often an hour or more), and the requests usually come at busy times (e.g., midterm, semester’s end, etc.). Courtesy in this regard is essential. Be prepared to send a brief, polite reminder of the deadline, if necessary, a week before the reference is due.
- When requesting a letter of reference, remind the professor of the classes you had with them, the semester and year, and the grade. You should also provide your current GPA and an up-to-date transcript of your courses and grades or permission to access this information through the university computer system. This kind of information is specifically solicited by an institution or program requiring a reference letter. Also offer to attach an example of your best work from their class, such as an especially strong essay or poem, as it will allow your professor to say something concrete about your work. If you have a résumé or curriculum vitae, send the professor a copy. There is also no shame in briefly highlighting some of the strengths and achievements in your academic career. If your application to graduate school or for a scholarship requires that you submit a personal statement or statement of intent, make sure that you give your professor a copy of that statement so that they know your plans and can comment on them explicitly in the letter. It will not help your application if you ask your Shakespeare professor to write you a reference, but you fail to mention to them that you are switching majors for graduate school.
- Often on application forms, you will see a statement asking whether you waive or do not waive your right to view application materials, including the letter of reference. This is your choice, of course, but generally speaking, it is customary to waive the right. The sense is that, by waiving the right to view the letter, you are helping to protect the integrity of the recommendation process. In other words, if I know that you will not be reading my letter and I still say nice things about you, I must really mean them. On a related note, do not be offended if you ask a professor for a letter of reference that you are to mail or deliver yourself, and you receive a letter in a sealed envelope. This is customary; indeed, I often give students their letters of reference in sealed envelopes with my signature written across the seal to indicate to the school that the envelope has not been opened. Again, the idea here is to protect the integrity of the recommendation, and the program or job to which you are applying will think more of a recommendation delivered in this fashion, not less.
- A letter of reference is not simply a testament to your high achievement in a single course; it is also a statement about you as a person and the likelihood that you will succeed at graduate school or the new job. Therefore, be sure to inform your professor of your other academic achievements (i.e. awards, scholarships, honors, formal presentations, publications in student journals, etc.), memberships (i.e. honors society, student groups, etc.), extra-curricular activities on and off campus, volunteer work, relevant work experience, and any other accomplishment that would help to portray you as well rounded, successful, and highly motivated. Remember: prospective graduate programs and employers want to know if you can multitask and succeed at a variety of activities. Plus, it makes the professor appear to know you well if they can comment on more than just your classroom performance.
- Did you receive poor grades one year or take time off from completing your undergraduate degree? Don’t be embarrassed. Make sure you tell your professor and explain the reasons why things happened. Your professor can address the situation in the letter and help to alleviate any concerns the graduate program or employer may have.
- What if you are not sure your recommender will write you a good letter? First of all, if you have to wonder about this possibility, then you might want to ask someone else for a letter. Alternately, you can politely and directly ask the professor if they can write you a confident reference with the provision that, if he or she cannot, you have other potential writers you are considering. Of course, you might want to tell the professor why you are starting this process with them. In short, nothing beats being polite, professional, and direct in these matters.
- If you are simply asked in an application to list references, it is still a good idea to contact your professor and ask permission to list them as a reference. This gesture will also tip off the professor that he or she might be receiving a phone call or email regarding your application, and thus the professor will be better prepared to offer you a strong reference if contacted.
- Once you have received a letter of reference, it is good form to write a thank-you note to your recommender. A brief hand-written note is preferred to email, though in my experience, fewer than 20% of students make a follow-up gesture of any kind once I have written their letter; thus I really remember the ones who do. I suspect that some students might be embarrassed that they did not get that scholarship or admission they were hoping for, and they fear they have “wasted” their professor’s time. The truth is that most professors are simply curious to know the outcome of the applications they have played a role in, and they fully understand that applications are competitive and that not all applicants will score that big job, graduate school admission, or scholarship. Plus, nearly all professors keep letters on file and consider that they might be used again with some modification. Therefore, by all means–win or lose–write a note of thanks. You simply cannot go wrong by saying “Thank you,” and on a more self-interested note, you never know when you may need a good word from that professor again.
Let me say that, for all these caveats, the majority of professors are delighted to write strong letters for fine students. Employment and admission to graduate schools are the fruits of our labor invested in you, and frankly we take pride when you do well. So work hard, be conscientious, and have no fear asking for letters when the time comes. Good luck!
Based on a document created by Dr. Gavin T. Richardson, Union University (2007)