Letters of Recommendation:

Introduction Selecting the right people How to go about doing it Writing the recommendation yourself

What the site contains:

What is a Statement of Purpose? What do colleges look for in an SoP? How do I start writing mine? How do I polish my SoP? Can I see some sample SoPs? What about recommendation letters? Can you help me with Scholarship SoPs? New What other resources can I tap?

Writing Tips:

Starting the essay Writing the Essay Editing and Rewriting Polishing the essay Writing Guides New

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

How to go about doing it

Make a list of persons you are going to ask to recommend you.
If possible, jot down a few extra names whom you could depend on in case of an emergency.

Make sure they are willing to do so.
Talk it over with them. See if they are reasonably sure they'd like to do for you. Be clear that recommendations are a pain for everyone involved, but most so for those who have to actually write them up. No one enjoys writing recommendations. And so you can't depend on someone who isn't too sure he/she'd like to recommend you.

Make sure they know what you want to do
If they knew you were interested in marketing research and not finance, maybe they wouldn't have said that you'd be a great asset to the finance class. Of course, the persons recommending you are often busy people, so you may want to give them a note alongside the rest of the material we've listed in our next point.

ShowTime
Each of the persons recommending you deserves a copy of your resume. Along with that, give them the original recommendation form and a copy too. In this copy, give them points that you'd like covered in their write-up. If the form asks them to list an incident where you displayed leadership skills, it'd make it easier for them if you have provided them with a few incidents that you think would be suitable. Let them do the descriptive part. Your job is to make sure they remember a few relevant incidents. You could even attach a note saying that you'd rather they talk about your pet project, etc.

Related Issues
Make your timeframe absolutely clear. And while we're on the topic, be considerate and give them a few weeks to prepare your recommendation. Be sure that you've given yourself a buffer of a week or two to make up for unexpected exigencies. Also clear up whether they'd like to mail the recommendation themselves or whether they want you to do the needful. Consult the application brochure to make sure you're aware of what your university prefers.
 

Selecting the right people

How to go about doing it

Writing the recommendation yourself