What material should I give my recommender so he can write my letter?

May 18, 2011 12:57 PM

I'm going back to school to take pre-med requirements (previously). My current boss has agreed to write a recommendation for me, and has asked me to tell him "what I want him to say." What should I give him?

I asked my mother and this is what she said:

I think it is important for him to convey these attributes about you:

industrious
dependable
smart
can do anything across disciplines
good character
will take advantage of the opportunity
hard worker

Basically, as if he were recommending you for a new job and the new job is med school.

Love, Mom

Should I just give him an edited version of that list? Should I flesh things out more? Should I give him a copy of my application so he can see what I wrote in my essay and so forth? I'm a little unclear on the process.

posted by ocherdraco to Education (5 answers total)

Best answer: In my experience "tell me what to say" in this context means "please write it for me". So, you might want to give him some actual sentences he can use. You can phrase it like "It would be great if you could point out how I completed project xxx ahead of a very challenging schedule and how that project utilized my skills in disciplines x, y and z, and how I also took advantage of attending all those special seminars that were being offered to expand our work skills, even though it meant doing so outside of regular work hours." or "I am hoping you can tell them about that time when I helped our new colleague learn that thing that I knew a lot about..."

Basically, you want to jog his memory of key events and allow for ample cut and paste opportunities.
posted by gubenuj at 1:07 PM on May 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Best answer: 2nding what gubenuj said.

I've always found the whole write your own recommendation thing to be very difficult to do. It always feels like you're praising yourself. A former boss of mine once told me to "leave emotions out and just let the facts speak for themselves." So, the more you give your boss facts (like the examples above) that illustrate what you want to illustrate, the better it might be on your end.
posted by moojoose at 2:23 PM on May 18, 2011

Best answer: yea, write it yourself and plead wit the boss to redline(edit with a red pen) it mercilessly. It will help you be more aware of your faults and strengths. How you deal with your personal failings is really key point in being a better person. I have been unsuccessul actually eliminating faults, and have given up trying, but I am great at hacking a fix around the problem so it doesn't hurt the job. This is the great, good stuff that can set you apart from your competition. Overcoming adversity is a FAR more valuable skill than being able to recite the list of bones in the hand (or whatever techncial details you need as a doctor).
posted by bartonlong at 2:41 PM on May 18, 2011

Best answer: See if you can find a copy of "Graduate School Admissions Essays" by Donald Asher. It is probably in your local library -- I might have the title a little wrong -- but it has a whole long section about how to get good recommendation letters, and can help you prep your boss to write you a great one.
posted by hungrytiger at 11:34 PM on May 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:48 AM on May 19, 2011