Reflection: The Recommendation Letter

This is just a short reflection on the thoughts that jump up whenever someone asks me for a recommendation letter.

I usually have a limit of writing one recommendation letter per year. It’s hard to be original and genuine in composing the letter.

There is an exception to this rule, and that’s if a requestor has a long and memorable history of interaction (for example, my TA from 2010 who became a regular participant in my YCISL program). But most requestors have interacted with me on the order of days to weeks. It is from among these requestors that I am very selective in agreeing to a recommendation letter and my purpose needs to be strong and clear.

I am quite particular about the traits I need to have observed (and remembered). The three traits that I typically recall and draw upon are project accomplishment, personal and effectual energy, and sense of purpose. These contribute to the story that I would tell with the requestor and I as main characters.

If I feel an imbalance between these two characters of the story, I would be uneasy about being a recommender.

Thinking in terms of a bell curve (as I oft do), if the requestor is not at the very top end, then there is probably something negative on my mind. I would not want to be a recommender in this case either. There is a chance to turn this around though – by informing me of a plan to get to the top end.

I believe in the 3-parts of the Your Personal Story that we craft in our YCISL workshops. The Past element is what I am usually provided (resume, for example). The Who am I? Present element is typically the main driver in getting me motivated (this comes from our recent interactions). And the Future Self is where I take a guess at fit and determine how excited I get about the potential outcome.

So what does a prospective requestor need to do to get me to agree? The first is being confident that I would present only strengths and not in any significance about weaknesses. The second is to approach me with the request in a timely and informative manner – last minute or vague requests are a big turn-off. Third is to meet with me, and make sure I like Your Personal Story.

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