Instructions

Instructions for Requests of Letters of Recommendation

The most important thing that I do as a faculty member is to support students in their academic, personal, and professional development. Often this assistance is in the form ofletters of recommendation for jobs, off campus-study programs, and graduate and professional schools. The more information I have available to me, the better will be my letter of support for you. Thus, I ask that you provide me with the following materials so that I can write you the best letter possible. –Mark Davis

Material and Information Needed (Normally, you can email me this information.)

• a copy of your cover letter, application, or statement of intent for the job or program. This does not need to be your final draft, but this is important because it tells me why you are interested in the job orprogram.
• an updated copy of your resume. If you do not have a resume, this is an ideal time to create one. The Career Development Center offers excellent assistance in developing a resume and I recommend that you make an appointment with the Center if you do not yet have a resume.
• a list of courses that you have taken that are relevant to the desired job/program. Provide this information unless it is already included in your cover letter or application.
• your GPA, if it is not included on your resume. If it is good, I may mention it; if it is not so good, I probably will not mention it.
• any other information that would be useful to me, e.g., other relevant experiences or abilities, explanations of extenuating circumstances that might explain a low GPA during one year, etc.
• specifics regarding how the letter should be submitted, e.g., on-line or a hard copy. If the former, be sure to give me the link; if the latter, be sure to give me the address.
• a note stating when each recommendation is due.

A final note: if asked on the recommendation form, you should check the box withdrawing your right to see the recommendation. A confidentially written recommendation normally will carry more weight. If you have some doubts regarding the nature of the letter I might write, you should speak to me ahead of time.

This UFI (Useful Flyer oflnformation) was developed and written by Mark A. Davis for the benefit of students. For other UFis see the UFI webpage: https://www.macalester.edu/-davis/madufis.html