Letters of Recommendation

Callie’s ideal Letter of Recommendation timeline and components

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably interested in asking me (or someone else) for a letter of recommendation. Congrats! That means you’re embarking on a very exciting next step of your life or career and I’m delighted to be supporting you in that.

I wanted to put together a little guide for trainees that are seeking letters of recommendation from me to help you, help me. :)

This blog post is mainly with undergrads applying to graduate school in mind, but many parts of relevant for different types of applications as well.

Here’s the tl;dr:

  • I prefer to have at least 1-2 months (or more) to write letters of recommendation

  • I will ask for the following from you at the onset:

    • Deadline for letter and link to the thing you’re applying to

    • A meeting to discuss your application

    • A recent CV and resume, ideally annotated (see what that means below)

    • Optional but strongly encouraged: your draft application materials (will explain why below)

  • I will ask you to send me reminders 2 weeks, 1 week, 3 days, and 1 day before the deadline

  • I may decline to write a letter for you, not because I don’t think want to or would write a strong one, but because I only write two letters of recommendation per quarter (excluding current research or former direct research trainees). I explain why I have this policy below.

OMG! I’m off the timeline you suggested… should I still ask?

Yes. Full stop.

It’s my responsibility to set my own boundaries, not yours. The worst case is that I can’t and say a friendly no. The best case is that I say yes. So still ask! If you ask me the night before it’s due, I may give you a bit of a side eye though.

First, a few words of encouragement:

Applying for anything can be nerve-wracking! You’re putting yourself out there, having to craft a story, and convince others that you’re “worthy”. Scratch that — you don’t have to convince anyone that you’re worthy. Nobody but yourself defines your self-worth! No matter what happens that your application, you will be a successful, worthy, and worthy human. I promise. :)

But seriously, applying can be stressful and asking for a letter of recommendation is always a bit anxiety-inducing. At least for me it is. I hope this little guide helps. You got this!!

What is a letter of recommendation?

Sample letter of recommendation (outline)

A letter of recommendation (LOR) is often solicited by a job, fellowship, grant, or more as a vouch that you’ll be successful at whatever you’re applying for.

As you can see from my sample LOR, they typically involve three main parts:

  • A description of who you are and why you will be a strong candidate for the specific position

  • How I know you and the extent to which we have worked together

  • What we did together and how that experience supports whatever you are applying for

In the following sections, I’ll show you how to ask for a letter of recommendation and how you can support me in writing a strong letter.

Think of your application as an argument, and a Letter of recommendation as supporting evidence

Before we dive into how to ask for a letter of recommendation, let’s take a step back and ask: What’s the purpose of a letter of recommendation?

Components of an example application — of course, your application may have different components.

Think about your application as an “argument”. You’re not just writing a narrative story about your thoughts on X, you should be making a targeted argument about why YOU are the best for X thing. And the letter/s of recommendation are supporting evidence for that big picture.

I made an infographic to think about how parts of the application should work together to make a cohesive argument.

For your letters of recommendation, you want to pick a diverse group of letter writers that can speak to the various aspects of your amazingness! So don’t choose all people from research, or all teachers. Get a mix and guide each person on what you want to focus on. See letters as “supplemental essays” that can strengthen the arguments you make in your essay/s.


How to ask for a Letter of recommendation:


If you’d like a letter of recommendation, please send me an email (not a text or Slack message) with the following information:

  • Your name and the extent to which we have collaborated (please be detailed and specific)

  • What you are applying for and when it is due — including a link to the website of the thing you’re applying to also helps

This is a formal ask! Please be formal.

Here’s an example draft of what you might say:

Dear Callie,

I’m applying for [insert thing and link to it] and was wondering whether you would be able to write me a strong letter of recommendation? The letter would be due [insert date].

Thank you for your consideration!

Best,

[your name]

I expect ideally 1-3 months of lead time to write a letter, unless you have already asked me for a letter of recommendation (I need ideally 1-2 weeks).

A few special edge cases:

There are a few situations where you won’t need to provide the additional information I ask for below (draft application materials, CV/resume, etc.).

1. Numerical rankings with no letter: Sometimes, application portals just ask for numerical rankings of candidates in a special portal. If this is your situation (and it does not ask for a letter), please let me know about this in the email.

2. Phone number and email for a reference: Sometimes, employers just want you to list the phone number and/or email for a reference without asking for a letter. Usually they call me. If this is the case (no letter needed), please note that in the email where you ask.

Are you a high school student applying to college?

Although I likely cannot submit one of your main letters of recommendation for your college application, I often can write a supplemental letter of recommendation for specific colleges/universities. You can read more about supplemental LORs for college applications in this blog post. If you and I have worked together extensively (for example, if you were a BioJam teen mentor or high school collaborator on a research project), I highly recommend asking for a supplemental letter of recommendation — especially if you are applying to a university that I have worked at.

Why I might decline to write you a letter of recommendation

The worst thing to hear back when asking for a letter of recommendation is a polite no. If I decline to write you a letter of recommendation, it’s almost certainly not because I don’t like you, think you didn’t do a good job in whatever we collaborated on, or wouldn’t write a strong letter.

The most likely case is that I may not have time.

I take writing letters of recommendation seriously. Each letter takes me hours to complete. I meet with each student, help with your application, and think deeply about how to write what is essentially a supplemental essay to whatever you’re applying to. The process is a joy — for the many incredible students I’ve had the honor of collaborating with, the process of writing a letter of recommendation is a celebratory opportunity to reflect on your growth, expertise, and general wonderfulness.

However, that kind of deep and thoughtful reflection takes time. And what doesn’t promote the compassionate reflection this process requires is chronic stress, lack of sleep, or compromising my well-being. Believe me, I really, really want to help you. I’ve been there many times: pulling an all-nighter to help a student who asked for a letter at the last minute to make sure they get what they need in. However, this isn’t kind to my other trainees who depend on me being rested and well for our current, ongoing collaborations. This isn’t kind to my family and community who have to live with my sometimes grumpy, hungry, or disregulated self. And compromising my well-being like this isn’t fair to myself either.

Because of this reality — that letter writing is often done after dinner, on planes, or taken from spending time with loved ones, that I limit myself to writing only two LORs per quarter for students who are not my direct research trainees.

That being said, the earlier you ask, the more likely I say yes. And the closer to the deadline you ask, the less likely I’ll be available.

Another reason I might decline a letter of recommendation, is because I don’t think I am qualified to write a letter of recommendation for the venue you need it for.

In a university context, committees are often looking for tenured faculty to write letters for admission to graduate or professional degree programs. If I don’t feel like I am qualified to write a letter, I may decline or strongly encourage you to find someone else. I don’t want to presume what is best for you, but I usually have consulted with others when I decline for this reason.

Finally, I may not feel confident that I can write you a strong letter of recommendation. This is highly unusual, but does happen sometimes. I want your application to shine. If I feel like I am not equipped to write a letter of recommendation that includes numerous, positive details about our work together, I would rather you have a glowing letter from someone else than a mid letter from me, which could be a problem for your application. You might be in this category if:

  • If you’re a student: you didn’t engage me in class nor come to office hours

  • If you’re a researcher: you didn’t communicate with the team, left the team in a lurch, didn’t treat your teammates right, or repeatedly flaked/didn’t deliver on time without clear communication and expectation re-setting

  • If you’re a high school student or other community collaborator: we were in the same group, but I didn’t get to know you much or at all

Of course, this isn’t comprehensive, but wanted to share to help provide some point of reflection.

Okay, I said yes: Help me, help you

If I have capacity to write a letter on the timeframe needed, I will let you know and ask you for the following:

  1. A meeting to discuss the application

  2. An updated CV or resumé

    Ideally the parts related to our work together are annotated with more information about what you contributed and any accomplishments such as presentations, posters, talks, awards, papers, etc.

  3. A list of your other letter writers

    It’s okay if this isn’t finalized yet, I just want to have a sense of who might be covering various topics so I know how to scope your letter. For example, if you did research with me, your application requires 2 letters and your other letter is a professor from a class you took, I will try to write about all of your research experiences, whereas if your other letter is from another research supervisor, I will just focus on our research together and maybe talk about your classes in addition.

  4. Optional by strongly encouaged: Drafts of the other application materials OR a blurb explaining why you are applying for this, what you hope to accomplish, and how this fits into your life plan/s.

    It’s okay if these are outlines and not whole drafts, I just want to make sure that my letter is synergistic with the argument you’re making in your entire application.

    One easy way to share most of this information with me is through an application planning document.

Putting together an application planning document:

Application planning document template

I strongly recommend putting together an application planning document that includes all parts of thing you’re applying to. I make mine in Google Docs and share a link with my letter writers. The doc contains current links to all application components and guidance to letter writers. Here is a downloadable link to the template.

This planning document keeps me organized and ensures that everything is in one place. This doc lives in a Google Folder that also contains all application materials. When I submit the application, the final PDF of all finalized application materials goes into a special sub-folder called “submitted”.

What will we discuss during our meeting?

This meeting has two goals:

  1. Learn about why you are applying for this and how it will help you accomplish your goals. Often this will entail going through your draft application materials and discussing it. I usually try to give advice/support when I can!

  2. Ask any questions for my letter - as I said above, I am essentially writing a supplemental essay for your application, so I might need some additional context such as:

    • What do you expect your other letter writers to cover? What scope do you want me to cover in my letter?

    • Are there any key elements you want me to cover in my letter that are not reflected elsewhere in your application?

    • Is there anything sensitive that you’ve shared with me that you would not like to be in your letter? I want to be thoughtful about disclosing personal stories that you might have shared with me in confidence to others, but also sometimes can provide helpful context to evaluation committees about why grades may have been lower one quarter/semester, a leave of absence, or other circumstances. I’d prefer to discuss with you directly what you’re comfortable with me disclosing. I want to be respectful of you having agency over your own story.

Sending reminders

I am very busy and I need reminders. You might feel nervous about emailing me so much. Please don’t. I really need reminders. Like really need reminders. Please help me help you by sending me reminders.
I like reminders at the following intervals (or until you get confirmation from me that I submitted it):

  • 2 weeks in advance

  • 1 week in advance

  • 3 days in advance

  • 1 day in advance

The reminder can be simple: “Friendly reminder that my letter of recommendation is due on X, which is Y weeks/days from now.”

A closing reflection

The opportunity to support my colleagues that are at an earlier career stage than me is one of the biggest joys of my job. Y’all inspire me so much and are so amazing. It’s truly an honor to have the opportunity to sing your praises in a letter of recommendation. Thank you for bearing with me and my weird quirks about letters of recommendation. I’ve written so many at this point, I have a lil groove in writing them and sharing this information will help me, help you.

Good luck! You got this!!

Callie Chappell