{"id":14366,"date":"2025-05-16T16:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T16:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceweb.clemson.edu\/uacl\/?p=14366"},"modified":"2025-07-21T17:15:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T17:15:32","slug":"do-you-need-a-reference-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceweb.clemson.edu\/uacl\/do-you-need-a-reference-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you need a reference letter?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"14366\" class=\"elementor elementor-14366\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0b91d4b e-flex e-con-boxed mk-enable-fade-animation-none mk-sticky-column-false mk-sticky-column-disable-tablet e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0b91d4b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;mk-animation-effect&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;mk_ext_is_sticky&quot;:&quot;false&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f7e8be7 mk-enable-fade-animation-none elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f7e8be7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;mk-animation-effect&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;mk_ext_is_infinite&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;mk_ext_is_scrollme&quot;:&quot;false&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #000000\">These letters are an integral part of most job applications and are typically used to gauge aspects of the candidate that are not stated in the application file. I am not interested in providing false\/empty statements and it is in your own interest to find the people who can say good things about you and your work. Therefore, I ask you to consider that:<\/span><\/p><ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">I can only provide letters of recommendations to students who have taken classes or performed research under direct my supervision. <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\"><strong>I do not write letters for people I don\u2019t know, for people that I vaguely know, or for people that I only occasionally interact with<\/strong>.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">The letter will describe a personal opinion related to your performance, character and attitude towards the assigned duties. As a result, the letter will describe my honest appraisal of your work, as I expect others to do the same thing when I make hiring decisions.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">All\u00a0<strong>reference letters will be considered confidential<\/strong>. Therefore, by requesting the reference letter, you are waiving your right to access such letter under the terms of the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/policy\/gen\/guid\/fpco\/ferpa\/index.html\">Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)<\/a>\u00a0or any other regulation that may apply.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Potential employers\/funding agencies often ask these letters to comment on\u00a0<em>soft<\/em> aspects and skills such as:<\/span><ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Self-motivation of the candidate.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000\">How proactive the candidate is?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Does the candidate\u00a0<em>care<\/em> about his\/her duties?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Typical working hours, <\/span>c<span style=\"color: #000000\">apacity to stay focused during working hours (social media, breaks, etc).\u00a0Does the candidate make good use of time?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to learn and retain new information<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to address problems and find innovative solutions<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to do independent work<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to identify and follow priorities<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to interpret scientific literature<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Capacity to accurately describe a problem based on facts\/experimental results<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Level of productivity compared to peers<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">How often the candidate presented excuses and\/or missed deadlines?<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Attention to detail<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Integrity and capacity to interact\/work with others<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Knowing what you know today, would you hire this person again for your team?<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"color: #000000\">If you still have questions, you may want to check this\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/adam-grant\/how-not-to-ask-for-a-reco_b_6611530.html\">article<\/a>\u00a0on how\u00a0<em>not<\/em>\u00a0to ask for a reference letter.\u00a0<strong>Now, if you think your performance is adequate and would like to proceed, please provide\/consider:<\/strong><\/span><\/p><ul><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">An unofficial copy of your transcript, including GPA<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Your curriculum vitae or resume<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">A general statement of purpose (this is specially important for Med\/Grad school)<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Any additional information that you would like me to highlight or that could help me write the letter you deserve (GRE or MCAT scores, number of presentations, REU experience, etc)<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">Writing these letters takes time, so keep in mind that I will need at least two week\u2019s notice.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"color: #000000\">I will try my best to let you know when the letter has been submitted but it is your exclusive responsibility to send reminders and to verify that the letter has been sent and received.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These letters are an integral part of most job applications and are typically used to gauge aspects of the candidate that are not stated in the application file. I am not interested in providing false\/empty statements and it is in your own interest to find the people who can say good things about you and your work. Therefore, I ask you to consider that: I can only provide letters of recommendations to students who have taken classes or performed research under direct my supervision. I do not write letters for people I don\u2019t know, for people that I vaguely know, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-associated-scientist"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Do you need a reference letter? - Microanalytical Chemistry Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceweb.clemson.edu\/uacl\/do-you-need-a-reference-letter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do you need a reference letter? - Microanalytical Chemistry Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These letters are an integral part of most job applications and are typically used to gauge aspects of the candidate that are not stated in the application file. I am not interested in providing false\/empty statements and it is in your own interest to find the people who can say good things about you and your work. Therefore, I ask you to consider that: I can only provide letters of recommendations to students who have taken classes or performed research under direct my supervision. 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