A letter of recommendation is sent from the recommender directly to the university or employer. You do Not have a copy. If you are five years later applying for a new job or a new graduate student slot, you ask the person to update the letter of recommendation and submit it to the new college/employer.

Is it rude to ask for a letter of recommendation?

Writing letters of recommendation for outstanding students is part of a professor’s job, so it’s 100% appropriate to ask for a letter. Politely asking for a “strong” letter is an important art. “Do you know me well enough to write a helpful letter” is a polite request. Yes, it is putting someone on the spot.

Is it rude to ask to read a letter of recommendation?

Assuming that the professor has had some prior contact with you, it’s absolutely not rude. But don’t ask unless you’ve been doing reasonably well in that professor’s course. And don’t ask for more than one recommendation per year.

How do you politely ask for a letter of recommendation?

– Create a list of 5–10 individuals best suited to write your recommendation letter. …
– Talk to each individual directly about the reason for the recommendation. …
– Send a thank-you to each individual who wrote a recommendation on your behalf. …
– Asking a professor or teacher.

Is it okay to reuse letters of recommendation?

Can I Use Letters of Recommendation Multiple Times? Definitely! … You may need the person sending the letter of rec to submit it separately each time. The easiest way to reuse letters of rec is usually on an application platform, where the letters are often automatically used as many times as you apply to colleges.

How long can you keep letters of recommendation?

Many employers do not want letters that are over 18 months. I always upload mine on the computer and just change the dates. But there are some that only want “recent” employers within the past 12 months or so

Is it appropriate to ask to see a letter of recommendation?

You can ask, but it is unusual for a student to ask to see their confidential recommendation letter, and the person who wrote the letter is under no obligation to show you the contents of their letter

Is it okay to edit a letter of recommendation?

Speaking strictly as a matter of ethics, I would have to say no, it would not be unethical so long as you did not change any of the actual words (other than perhaps correcting their spelling) or change the meaning / intent of the letter

Do letters of recommendation expire?

Letters don’t expire, they decay. As each year passes they are worth that much less.

Can I edit a recommendation letter?

To make changes to a letter submitted as a PDF document, it is necessary to delete the original letter and upload a replacement. Deleting the original letter will cause the recommendation request to revert to “pending” status. Once this occurs, you can resubmit the recommendation with the replacement letter.

Is it wrong to edit a letter of recommendation?

4 Answers. You cannot do this. Your professor recommended you for University A; changing their recommendation to University B is fraud

How recent Should letters of recommendation be?

Ideally, you should have known that person for at least six months before asking them for a letter. Do not, under any circumstance, ask for a recommendation letter from: someone who doesn’t know you well enough to vouch for your academic and work experience

Who should you not ask for a letter of recommendation?

– A Teacher Who’s Famous but Doesn’t Know You.
– A Teacher Who Taught You Early, and for a Short Time.
– Someone Who’s Related to You.
– Your Best Friend (Unless It’s a Peer Recommendation)
– Someone Who Doesn’t Have the Best Impression of You.

Do letters of recommendation expire for med school?

Many medical schools require at least two science professors and one non-science professor to submit LORs on your behalf. … Also, some medical schools mandate “expiration dates” on their letters; they may require that no LORs be older than a year

Do teachers reuse recommendation letters?

More and more colleges are accepting the Common Application where your teacher uploads your recommendations and then the student uses whichever ones they want for particular colleges based on the requirements of the college. Most colleges will want a specific number of applicant recommendations.

Which teachers should you get recommendations from?

Junior year teachers are typically the best choice for recommenders, because they had you recently and for a whole year. Senior year teachers likely don’t know you that well yet, and freshman and sophomore year teachers are not very recent. Along similar lines, you want to choose a teacher who knows you well

How long does a letter of recommendation last?

The document should be 300-400 words long and should present your character, accomplishments and abilities from an objective perspective. A “letter of reference” is often given directly to you by the referee and you can keep it for future use

How far in advance should letters of recommendation be sent?

three weeks

Can you use old recommendation letters?

So the letter itself should be recent, but you can, however, ask for a recommendation from a person who was your teacher/professor/boss/mentor some time ago.

Is it better to ask for a letter of recommendation in person?

Letter of recommendation: Ask personally When seeking letters of recommendation, don’t send e-mails or leave voicemails. It’s to your advantage to ask the person face-to-face. This conveys just how important this letter is to you. Many instructors and supervisors deal with dozens of recommendation requests every year


Join our Advices & Skills Community and share you ideas today !