Reference Letter Tips

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It can be surprisingly easy to overlook reference letters when applying to grad programs or academic jobs.  Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

 

  • Ask early.  Ideally, you should approach potential references at least five or six months before the letters are due.  This gives them time to write a nice, detailed letter for you.  A typical job market letter runs around two pages on average, so you don’t want to leave your writers a couple weeks to complete such a task.

  • Get at least four letters from tenured or tenure-track faculty, ideally all within your discipline, who can speak highly of your scholarly ability.  Three letters used to be adequate but these days four is the absolute minimum.  All letters should be from well-respected faculty who like you – just one lukewarm letter can spoil the whole batch.
  • When applying to a grad program, do NOT approach teaching assistants or adjunct professors for letters.  Letters from grad students or untenured faculty pull no weight.
  • Try to obtain at least one letter from a big name outside your program, especially if your department or school isn’t highly ranked.  Of course, make sure you’ve established a relationship with this person, as “cold calls” won’t likely succeed.  The writers in your own department want you to succeed, but a glowing letter from someone with a more objective standpoint signals to committees that you are legit.
  • When applying for academic jobs, make sure at least one (preferably two) of your writers can speak to your teaching abilities.
  • When approaching someone for a letter, word your request in such a way that you allow them room to refuse gracefully.  Not only is this the collegial thing to do, but the last thing you want is a letter from someone who felt pressured into writing something.
 

 

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Applying to Grad School
career advice
early grad
Undergraduate
Scaling the Ivory Tower

Comments

Submitted by JacobTLevy on Tue, 2011-10-04 00:49

Please note that "Try to obtain at least one letter from a big name outside your program" only applies to grad students applying for academic jobs.  Undergrads applying to grad school don't need such a letter and almost certainly don't have any plausible way of getting one.  College seniors, don't start pestering faculty from other universities for letters!

In my view, this:   "When applying to a grad program, do NOT approach teaching assistants or adjunct professors for letters.  Letters from grad students or untenured faculty pull no weight"  is seriously overstated.  A grad student letter carries no weight, but a letter from an adjunct might be fine, and letters from untenured but tenure-track professors certainly do carry some weight.  They carry *less* weight than those from well-known tenured professors-- but it's pretty happenstance whether an undergrad happens to have 3-4 well-known tenured professors at his or her institution in his or her field.  The rule as stated would make it pretty much impossible for students from small colleges to get into grad school in some fields, and that's just not true.