Sticky Reference Question.

August 12, 2009 6:02 AM

Tough question regarding a professional reference. I worked for a professor, Dr. XYZ, for the past couple of years in grad school as a graduate assistant. Recently, Dr. XYZ enthusiastically agreed to serve as a professional reference for me during my post-grad school job hunt. Problem: did I screw this reference up with a late assignment?

The issue at hand: I also happen to be taking a class with Dr. XYZ this summer. Due to heinous technological difficulties that I won't go into here, I got behind on my final assignment for the course, and explained my situation and asked to turn it in late, if I could. Dr. XYZ said to turn it in when I could. I fully intended to turn it in the next day, but my computer basically gave up the ghost, and in between full days working at my other job and a hike across town to the campus computer lab, I couldn't get it completed until almost a week after the due date. Yes, this was bad. When I finally did turn it in at that time, professor praised my work and said that it would normally have received an A, but noted that it was marked down a bit due to being almost a week tardy. I still have a really good grade in the class, even after being graded down.

After all those details, the meat of my question: did I blow Dr. XYZ's enthusiastic, positive reference regarding my performance as an employee due to this late assignment business? Should I plan not to cite the person in question as a reference now that this may have damaged my credibility with the late assignment?

This is a matter of concern because I am currently being considered for a dream job, and considering that the work I did for this professor was directly relevant, having that reference would be ideal. Thanks for any input.

posted by anonymous to work & money (14 answers total)

Only you know Dr. XYZ, and you're a far better judge of the situation than any of us can be. Still, I doubt one late assignment is going to change his overall opinion of you. I'd keep him as a reference. Even if he tempers his enthusiasm a little, it'll still be a positive reference, and a very relevant one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:12 AM on August 12, 2009

did the prof hear the whole story? if so, i don't think you have anything to worry about.
posted by lester at 6:22 AM on August 12, 2009

So, wait, after a history of excellent work ethic you had one late assignment that was still high quality? I would not even worry about it.

Suggestion: call the prof, and tell the prof what the job is, what work you did with XYZ that directly makes you suitable for the job, and ask again if you can use the prof as a reference. You soothe your nerves and you get to remind the prof of things that should be highlighted on a call regarding your dream job.
posted by bfranklin at 6:35 AM on August 12, 2009

In business as well as academia, the preferred way to ask this question is "Are you comfortable giving me a strong reference?" which comes with some extra honesty and clarity, and gives the professor a polite out if he's not.

"Will you give me a reference?" does not work well, and leads to worrying like this.

After the fact, you can always ask. I suggest: "That one late assignment won't hurt my reference, will it?"
posted by rokusan at 6:41 AM on August 12, 2009 [1 favorite]

I agree with rokusan saying that you should just ask, but fundamentally, I don't think you even need to do that. People never care about your minor screw-ups as much as you do.
posted by mercredi at 6:44 AM on August 12, 2009

rokusan is right. Never just ask for a reference--ask specifically for a positive reference.

People never care about your minor screw-ups as much as you do.

Depends on the professor. When I taught, I would have found this pretty irritating, but I was a stickler for deadlines.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:08 AM on August 12, 2009

Unless he's crazy, it will be fine.

You didn't mention any craziness, so odds are in your favor!
posted by voltairemodern at 8:44 AM on August 12, 2009

When I taught, I would have found this pretty irritating, but I was a stickler for deadlines.

But remember, the scenario is this: you are writing a recommendation for a student who has worked for you for several years prior to this one incident. Unless you have some reason to take the incident personally, would it really cause you to change your recommendation? Not in my experience.
posted by voltairemodern at 8:47 AM on August 12, 2009

Professors are people too. You can talk to them and ask them questions just as if they were normal humans like yourself.
posted by ook at 8:52 AM on August 12, 2009 [3 favorites]

But remember, the scenario is this: you are writing a recommendation for a student who has worked for you for several years prior to this one incident. Unless you have some reason to take the incident personally, would it really cause you to change your recommendation? Not in my experience.

Like I said, it really depends on the professor--as well as the student in question and the specifics of the situation. For me, having communicated with me about the late work before turning it in would have made all the difference. But, like I said, that's me, and I'm a stickler for deadlines. OP should talk to the professor in question just to make sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he or she got a "Oh, it's no problem" in response, but none of us are the professor and none of us can say for sure.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:52 AM on August 12, 2009

[This is a followup from anonymous.]

Some data points: I agree 100% regarding specifying that I am requesting a strong, positive reference, and have always done so in the past when I've asked employers to be referrers, including this past time. I also notify referrers and reiterate that they should let me know if they would rather not or are unable to provide that positive reference when I request specific permission to give their contact info to a certain employer for a position.

Like I said, it really depends on the professor--as well as the student in question and the specifics of the situation. For me, having communicated with me about the late work before turning it in would have made all the difference.

Not sure if you saw this part of the original post, PhoBWanKenobi, but I did actually communicate the problem to the professor on the day the assignment was due, and was told to turn it in when I could.

Thanks for your responses so far, everyone--hearing different perspectives is really helpful.

posted by cortex at 9:10 AM on August 12, 2009

A lot of this depends on the local culture. Around where I am, for example, when a professor says "turn it in when you can" to a grad student, it means "whenever you feel like, I don't give a fuck," and I've turned things in many months late to people I'd still gladly take refs from.

Even controlling for culture, however, it's hard to imagine that a week's lateness on one assignment due to computer crap is going to outweigh years of good work.
posted by paultopia at 11:01 AM on August 12, 2009

In the academic culture I am used to (graduate computer science), this incident wouldn't cause any problems. I've heard professors say something like "I don't care if he didn't bother doing the homework because he was working on more interesting research; I would only be concerned if I thought he didn't do it because he couldn't."

When you say 'graduate assistant,' you mean that you did research with the prof, right? If during that time, you showed evidence that you are a competent researcher and not a slacker, I can't imagine why the prof would so much as care about the late assignment. Grad school (in CS, at least) is very much about being able to do original work and classwork is very peripheral; the fact that after accepting your work late, Dr. XYZ mentioned it was good suggests that s/he didn't object too much. Your recommendation shouldn't contain much about your coursework anyways, so if your graduate assistantship impressed Dr XYZ, that's what the body of the rec should be about anyways.

Caveat: my field (CS) has a particular culture; yours may be different.
posted by bsdfish at 2:20 PM on August 12, 2009

Not sure if you saw this part of the original post, PhoBWanKenobi, but I did actually communicate the problem to the professor on the day the assignment was due, and was told to turn it in when I could.

Whoops, sorry OP--I did miss that. You should be fine, but if you have any lingering concerns, I'd still trust those instincts and ask the professor. At the very least, it can't hurt.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:41 AM on August 13, 2009