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I am wondering if anyone has had experience asking for / receiving letters of rec for grad schools or jobs. I just received a letter written by one of my profs for a job application. I am a little disappointed as the tone of the letter seems a bit lukewarm, even though the referee "strongly recommends" my application. Also, the prof listed the name of the college as "Excelsior College Online" and there is a major typo in the body text. I am wondering if I should use it or leave it out entirely. Any thoughts or other experiences with LOR? Thanks in advance.
[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkBlue"]B.S., Biology, Excelsior College
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[COLOR="Navy"]Q1: How many letters do you need?
Q2: How many do you currently have?
Q3: Of those, how "important" (considering the incorrect "online" reference and "major typo") is this letter; does it have weight or will it weigh you down?[/COLOR]
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If a letter is luke warm I would not use it at all. Do you have any other sources that you can use? I have a question does this professor teach at Excelsior College Online?
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Sunshine Wrote:I am wondering if anyone has had experience asking for / receiving letters of rec for grad schools or jobs. I just received a letter written by one of my profs for a job application. I am a little disappointed as the tone of the letter seems a bit lukewarm, even though the referee "strongly recommends" my application. Also, the prof listed the name of the college as "Excelsior College Online" and there is a major typo in the body text. I am wondering if I should use it or leave it out entirely. Any thoughts or other experiences with LOR? Thanks in advance.
I have written my own LOR instead of them writing it and they signed it. It was well written in the technical language I wanted and most would have no problem signing it...since they are alittle time consuming. Is that an option for you?
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ShotoJuku Wrote:Q1: How many letters do you need?
Just one for this job.
ShotoJuku Wrote:[COLOR="Navy"]
Q2: How many do you currently have?[/COLOR]
I currently have two- one from this prof, and one from my current employer.
ShotoJuku Wrote:[COLOR="Navy"]
Q3: Of those, how "important" (considering the incorrect "online" reference and "major typo") is this letter; does it have weight or will it weigh you down?[/COLOR]
Good question. It is important because the job is a bio research position with a university, and this one one of my bio professors. Although I could use the letter from my current employer, my current job is administrative so the work experience is not relevant.
Would it be better to have a glowing letter that is unrelated to the work at hand, or a decent letter from a field expert?
[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkBlue"]B.S., Biology, Excelsior College
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alleycat Wrote:If a letter is luke warm I would not use it at all. Do you have any other sources that you can use? I have a question does this professor teach at Excelsior College Online?
Thanks for the reply!
Yes, I have a letter from my boss I could use instead.
The prof is adjunct faculty with Excelsior College, which conducts all classes online, so while EC is an online college, "Online" is not an official part of the school name. "Excelsior College Online" is listed as the school name on his letterhead, and he refers to it as such in the body text. To me, that sounds weird. It'd be like someone listing TESC as Thomas Edison State College Online. That, coupled with the typo, gave me the impression that the letter was sort of thrown together. I dunno...maybe I am being too picky.
[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkBlue"]B.S., Biology, Excelsior College
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campbell0021 Wrote:I have written my own LOR instead of them writing it and they signed it. It was well written in the technical language I wanted and most would have no problem signing it...since they are alittle time consuming. Is that an option for you?
Thanks, that's a good idea. I will work on that for the next one. How did you approach them about it? Did you offer to write the letter and let them modify/change it if needed?
[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkBlue"]B.S., Biology, Excelsior College
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I recommend to my students to look at several online resources for writing a good LOR. This way they can provide some samples they like when they make the request for the LOR. Some people just are not good at understanding how to craft good LOR and they are more than happy to use a template you provide. Think of it as a rubric for a LOR. Since you are looking for a research based job, find a letter format that will direct the writer towards those attributes and provide it to your advisor at EC and see if they will do it or another instructor at EC. You may find that academic LOR will fit better than regular job LOR. You may also want to forward a copy of the recommendation you did get to your advisor. Since they are so picky about the quality of the writing from their students they should see the quality of the writing their instructors are providing! Just a pet peeve of mine! I do letters for my students all the time, so you certainly shouldn't have a problem finding someone at EC to do it for you.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the info, Marianne! I had no idea that one could write/provide your own template before it was mentioned on this thread. I will definitely do it next time. The academic LOR is a great idea, too.
[SIZE="2"][COLOR="DarkBlue"]B.S., Biology, Excelsior College
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