If you are an empathetic and caring person, you might feel bad about asking for letters of recommendation from current and former mentors as you apply for postdocs or permanent jobs. I don’t like to impose on other people, and I remember that there was a lot of activation energy before I would ask for a letter of recommendation earlier in my career. At this point in my career, I write dozens of letters of recommendation each year, and I have done so for at least a decade. With all this experience, I don’t think anyone should feel bad requesting a letter of recommendation.
This post is oriented primarily towards graduate students and postdocs. I don’t think that undergraduates should feel bad about asking for letters of recommendation, but whether a given professor can write an informed letter will depend a lot on the specific circumstances such as class size and performance. However, you are well within your rights, and also well within standard practice in the sciences, to request a letter of recommendation from any of your grad advisors, or anyone that serves on your graduate committee, or any senior collaborator.
Writing letters of recommendation for my trainees is part of my job. One of the things that I am paid to do is to train and mentor graduate students and postdocs, and writing letters of recommendation is part of that job. If you have a mentor who is reluctant to write a letter of recommendation, or tries to discourage you from applying for an opportunity because they would have to write a letter, they are in the wrong. Of course, there are caveats- if someone can’t write you a positive letter because you were a jerk or did not do your job, that is on you. Another caveat would be that you might not want a student to apply for something for a valid reason that has nothing to do with a letter of rec (i.e., the opportunity is not the best move, etc.). But simply not wanting to write a letter because doing so requires work is not acceptable.
It may feel like you are responsible for a lot of work if you are applying for 40 tenure track jobs and most of those need a letter from your advisor. But besides being their job, it is not that much additional work to customize a letter for each opportunity. At this point, I have written letters of recommendation for each of my students, and updating and customizing is not a major effort.
Besides being my job, I also don’t mind writing letters of recommendation because I want my mentees to end up in great positions. It is fun to write about the great work done by my junior colleagues, and I like explaining to search committees just why I think my colleague would be an excellent choice. Of course, I would not be in my current position without my mentors writing me letters of recommendation. So don’t hesitate to ask for letters of recommendation, and be enthusiastic about providing letters of recommendation for your trainees when your time comes.
This post is oriented primarily towards graduate students and postdocs. I don’t think that undergraduates should feel bad about asking for letters of recommendation, but whether a given professor can write an informed letter will depend a lot on the specific circumstances such as class size and performance. However, you are well within your rights, and also well within standard practice in the sciences, to request a letter of recommendation from any of your grad advisors, or anyone that serves on your graduate committee, or any senior collaborator.
Writing letters of recommendation for my trainees is part of my job. One of the things that I am paid to do is to train and mentor graduate students and postdocs, and writing letters of recommendation is part of that job. If you have a mentor who is reluctant to write a letter of recommendation, or tries to discourage you from applying for an opportunity because they would have to write a letter, they are in the wrong. Of course, there are caveats- if someone can’t write you a positive letter because you were a jerk or did not do your job, that is on you. Another caveat would be that you might not want a student to apply for something for a valid reason that has nothing to do with a letter of rec (i.e., the opportunity is not the best move, etc.). But simply not wanting to write a letter because doing so requires work is not acceptable.
It may feel like you are responsible for a lot of work if you are applying for 40 tenure track jobs and most of those need a letter from your advisor. But besides being their job, it is not that much additional work to customize a letter for each opportunity. At this point, I have written letters of recommendation for each of my students, and updating and customizing is not a major effort.
Besides being my job, I also don’t mind writing letters of recommendation because I want my mentees to end up in great positions. It is fun to write about the great work done by my junior colleagues, and I like explaining to search committees just why I think my colleague would be an excellent choice. Of course, I would not be in my current position without my mentors writing me letters of recommendation. So don’t hesitate to ask for letters of recommendation, and be enthusiastic about providing letters of recommendation for your trainees when your time comes.
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