Your Letter of Recommendation Could be Here

Recently, I see a lively debate around the value of the letters of recommendation. Do they still do anything? Are they worth writing and submitting? Do they have a value for those who read them? As someone who requests, writes, and reads many letters of recommendation (hereinafter LORs for simplicity) for both myself, my students, and (potential) colleagues, let me assure you that they still have a lot of weight in higher education, government agencies, and sometimes non-profits.

If you have someone who is planning to apply for an (advanced) degree program, a scholarship, a coveted internship, or a highly competitive job requiring a letter of recommendation, you might want to share this article as I will try to lay out everything useful about LORs. Let's start with the history.

History of Letters of Recommendations

You probably won't be surprised that writing LORs goes back deep into the history of human societies and written communication. While it's challenging to pinpoint the exact origin of this practice, LORs have been used in various cultures and societies, especially by classes and groups with exclusive and coveted memberships.

In ancient Greece, for instance, LORs were commonly known as "epistolographia." These letters were often written by influential individuals to vouch for someone's character or abilities. They were used to support candidates competing for political positions or seeking admission to schools and institutions. Aristotle, for example, has been known to have written LORs for his lyceum graduates.

During the Roman Empire, recommendations known as "commendationes" or "epistolae commendaticiae" were prevalent. These letters were typically written by well-respected individuals, such as senators or high-ranking officials, to endorse someone's suitability for a particular role or position. These recommendations were particularly important in social and political circles, aiding individuals in securing positions of power or influence.

In medieval Europe, the practice of writing LORs continued, often in the form of "letters of introduction" or "letters of commendation." These letters were used to introduce someone to a new community or to vouch for their character and qualifications. They were especially crucial during the Middle Ages when travel was arduous and dangerous. Letters of recommendation helped individuals establish connections and gain support in unfamiliar territories. In the age when no photography or birth certificates existed, LORs were valuable and reliable documents that could launch someone's successful military or government career. The LOR bearers could also be subject to medieval identity theft as the cases of stealing someone's LOR and masquerading as the letter bearer were not uncommon. Several French and English adventure novels had that as a major part of their plot (hint: re-read The Three Musketeers!).

One of the most famous examples of the importance of LORs in early America comes from Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, where he admitted that he'd forged a LOR for himself when he decided to move from Philadelphia to Boston, away from his overbearing older brother. That forged letter helped him land an apprenticeship with Samuel Mickle, a prominent printer at the time. While I would never encourage anyone today to forge LORs for themselves, this example shows how important they were at the time.

Over time, the use of letters of recommendation expanded beyond the political and social spheres. With the rise of universities and educational institutions, letters of recommendation became a crucial component of the admission process. Scholars, teachers, or employers write letters to assess an applicant's academic prowess, personal qualities, and potential for success. And this practice is still very robust.

Why LORs are still important?

When someone applies for a degree program, a scholarship, or an internship, most of application materials (except for transcripts and standardized test scores) come from that applicant: resume, statement of purpose, cover letter, etc. The applicants put their best foot forward by highlighting and talking up their own character, achievements, and aspirations. Letters of recommendation from other people is the only way for the assessors to get a different perspective on the applicant. And even though most LORs are also talking up the applicant, they give an additional insight into the person, as if the assessor has an extra pair of eyes to look at the applicant. It is incredibly valuable and in many cases gives more ground for the assessors to make their decision.

Now, some people are saying that just like with the grade inflation, the importance of LORs in academia is overestimated. I can only tell those people that as someone who sat on numerous committees reading through various applications, it may come down to the LOR's insights when the applications are on par with each other and the decision is hard to make. In other words, we do read LORs and do take them into account.

In essence, what is a modern LOR about?

One feature that LORs kept throughout history is that they are the recommender's testimony to the applicant's character and suitability for the sought position or program. Most LOR writers make good time and effort to write them as they understand that their better knowledge of the applicants can enhance the application materials. The assessors can tell if the letter was sincere and supportive of the applicant just by the writer's style and amount and depth of detail/insight provided.

When a recommender submits a letter that is clearly written from a template, in very generic and broad terms, for the assessors it maybe telling of both the letter provider and their relationship with the applicant: Diligent LOR writers will always pen a thoughtful insight about the applicant that will help rather than hinder their chances of getting into the program. Sometimes it might be a cultural difference as people in non-Western cultures do not ascribe so much importance to the LORs and submit them just to check them off, to complete the package. That can be devastating for the applicant and incredibly heartbreaking for the assessors as it is not the applicant's fault in most cases.

Who should you ask for a LOR?

All of the above suggests one of the best pieces of advice I can give: Only ask for LORs from people who know you well and with whom you have a good working relationship. Someone you can trust to write a meaningful and positive letter for you. If the person you asked hesitates even for a second, it's a red flag. Thank them for consideration anyway and move on.

If you are an undergraduate student, your most logical recommenders will be your professors. If you had some work experience, you may include a letter from your work supervisor. It really depends on what kind of a position you are applying: if it is an academic program, professors' recommendations will be more appropriate; if it's an internship or a job application, your previous work supervisors will have a lot of weight as well. I would not recommend asking for a letter from your peers unless you have a lot of work experience and your peer can testify to your abilities essential for the application, such as working in teams or contributing to collaborative projects. Obviously, as you progress through life and gain more professional experience, LORs from your peers/colleagues will acquire more weight as well. However, if an undergraduate student submits a LOR from a fellow student or athletic team mate (we've seen letters like that as well), the application will lose a lot of points.

How to request a LOR

This is one of the things that I regularly hear from my undergraduate students: They are afraid of asking their professors or work supervisors for a letter of recommendation! It takes them a lot of courage to put forward that request, even to those who gave them good grades and evaluations. Here's my insight: Most professors see writing LORs as part of their service to academia. They may even include in their annual reports how many LORs they wrote for students as it also reflects well on them, that they are asked to be a reference for the student's abilities and skills. If teachers see LORs as an opportunity to help students achieve their goal, they will take the LORs requests and write them enthusiastically, especially when they are given ample time to be thoughtful and creative. Hence, another piece of advice: Request a LOR well in advance, at least two weeks or better yet a month before the submission deadline.

Getting back to my point: Do not be afraid of requesting a LOR. In the worst case scenario, you will get a polite rejection and can move on to someone else. If I have to give a rejection (and I do that rarely), I tell the student that I don't know them well enough to write a supportive letter or I feel that my letter of recommendation would not help them. They appreciate my honesty and hopefully ask someone else.

The best way to request the letter in our busy times is in person (email, if the one-on-one conversation is impossible, is the second best option). The request should be simple, short, and straightforward, something like "I am applying to this program/internship/job (give a brief description). They require two LORs. Would you please write one for me?" You might also explain why you think that position is good for you if more details are requested.

Then you need to follow up with an email that would contain the program description, your resume and better yet the statement of purpose if you have already written it. All of that will help the recommender to craft a meaningful letter and also score you additional points if the professor takes time to give you feedback on your statement of purpose.

The email follow-up is crucial. Even if the recommender agreed to give you a LOR in your initial conversation, teachers are very busy and may simply forget that they committed. The email will serve as both the reminder and an opportunity to give the materials helpful for letter-writing, such as the program description and your resume and statement of purpose.

What if the recommender asks you to write a draft?

Do not be put off by the request. Recommenders are really busy. If they ask you to draft the LOR you are requesting, they simply want to have something to work with. They will never submit your draft as it is and will always re-write it in their own voice. If, however, you still think this request is too much, you can suggest to provide the bullet points that would highlight what you want your LOR to include as you probably have a better idea of what personal traits, achievements and aspirations make you suitable for the position you are applying to. You should also provide a brief program and position description again. Also, by providing the bullet points you will have a pretty good idea what your LOR will contain. So, take this as an opportunity, not a burden (no matter how hard it might be to talk yourself up).

How to make sure the LOR is actually submitted for your application

Letters of recommendation are supposed to be confidential. You should never suggest that the recommender gives you the LOR to read before it is submitted. If you have a great relationship, your recommender may give you the LOR to read anyway (usually after it's submitted), but because it is supposed to be an honest testimony to both your advantages and shortcomings, confidentiality is a part of the process by default.

I remember the times, before electronic submissions of LORs became a norm, when the recommender was supposed to write a letter, print and sign it, put it into an actual envelope, seal the envelope and sign it across the seam so that the receiving institution can see it was not opened before the submission. Then the applicant would take the envelope and mail it to the institution together with the rest of the application materials, as a package. When I applied for eight different doctoral programs in the early 2000s, my two recommenders had to write and seal eight different letters, which as you understand can be a major chore. I was incredibly grateful.

The old "analogue" way had a major advantage for the applicant: when you had a physical letter on hand, you knew for sure it would be submitted. The electronic submission process made it both simpler and more complicated. Simpler because you don't have to wait for the physical letter to be submitted and the recommenders can login to the institutions directly to submit LORs when they are ready. More complicated because you as an applicant have less control over the submission process.

There's nothing more frustrating than losing scores on your application because your recommender did not submit the LOR for you. I have known cases where strong candidates were ultimately excluded from the final interviews or the programs because their package missed a letter of recommendation. So making sure it is submitted is absolutely essential.

Most application programs today are designed in such a way that once the letter is submitted on your behalf you will get a confirmation. Some of them also send the reminders to your recommenders to submit the letter, so you do not need to worry about the follow-up steps. If, however, you didn't get a confirmation that the letter was submitted on your behalf, you might want to email your recommender with a polite reminder that the deadline is approaching and you count on their support. Again, do not assume that they don't want to write the letter or changed their mind after the initial commitment. Most of the times, we simply forget and need a gentle reminder.

Should you submit more than two LORs?

Most academic and internship programs require two letters of recommendation. Submitting the third one (extra, as a back-up) will not give you any additional points. Assessors usually look at an additional letter only if it gives them a different perspective, eg. if the two other letters are from teachers/professors and the third one is from a work supervisor. However, only two letters will be scored as a part of the package anyway, not to give you an unfair advantage over other applicants.

I hope this was useful. If I forgot something or you have any questions about any aspect of LORs, please write them in the comments and I'll try to address them.