How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation
How daunting is it to ask your preceptor or professor for a letter of recommendation (LOR)? For myself, it was the most dreaded part I slowly waited towards the end of my rotation for. I have always suffered from self-doubt and insecurities regarding whether my mentor would really want to write me a letter. Well, after several pages of journaling self-affirmations later, I mastered the art of asking people for favors, and that included a LOR.
A little context: This article will describe the steps you can take to ask for a LOR and ensure you will receive one that extols your qualifications and highlights your ambition. The content of this article will be useful for you if you are a pre-medical student seeking a LOR for medical school applications or a medical student seeking LOR for residency applications. The principles are the same and can be essentially applied to any situation. These opinions are completely my own and have worked for me based on my experience.
Walk into a situation with a LOR as your end goal
I walked into every clinical experience I had that would last longer than a week with the intention of building strong and close relationships with my preceptor and the office staff. I made sure I had reviewed and prepared for every patient we would be seeing for the day, so that I was proactive in their care. I offered help in any form to ensure we stayed on schedule with time to spare for learning moments. You can offer help in the form of cleaning earwax on your Internal Medicine rotation to writing patient progress notes. Another example is if you are on your surgery rotation, offer nurses and surgical techs your help in setting up and cleaning up in the OR. Going the extra mile by simply expressing your interest and direct involvement in patient care will show your preceptor and your colleagues that you are a team player and have a genuine passion for Medicine. If you are a pre-medical student, develop strong relationships with your professors and mentors by visiting their office hours—EVEN if you do not have specific questions to ask yet. Also realize that your research, volunteer, shadowing, and work supervisors are also potential letter writers. Your motivation to excel should not solely come from your desire to receive a good LOR; however, the opportunities will arise on their own if you show good work ethic. If you engage in every interaction, you will open up opportunities where you feel confident enough to ask people to be your letter writers.
Do not ask the wrong person for a LOR
Definitely do not make the mistake of asking anyone or everyone for a LOR if they do not know you well enough to write a good one. You want to use your intuition to weed out who would write you a desirable LOR that helps you stand out in your application among hundreds of other applicants. So, if you ticked off an attending by showing up late to a surgery, it might be best to cross them off your letter writer list. I would also steer away from asking a LOR from someone who you have not worked closely with. If they agree to write it, it will probably be generic since they did not have enough interactions with you to pull specific examples from your work with them. In another scenario, they may ask you to write the letter yourself and they will sign it. I highly do not recommend doing this. For one, it is dishonest. Second, unless you’re a writing expert, you probably will not be able to write about yourself well enough to make an impression on admission committees.
Request a LOR in-person
Unless you’re thinking in hindsight to ask someone you don’t work with anymore for a LOR , always request one in-person. It shows more professional maturity and sincerity since anyone can hind behind a screen and potentially Bcc 10 other potential letter writers in a generic email. It is more personal to ask your letter writer face-to-face, and they will probably appreciate the genuineness in your request.
Provide as much information to your letter writer as you can
Send them your CV, always. Make sure they have information about where to submit or upload your LOR as well. It is best to request that the LOR be written on letterhead if your writer is writing from within an organization. If you would like to include additional information about how to write a LOR for the specific area you are applying in, that does not hurt. Certain programs like Internal Medicine and OB/GYN can have specific requirements.
How you should phrase your LOR request
Okay, we are finally headed towards the end of this article. By now, you should have a good idea of who to ask a LOR from. Well, what about phrasing the request? Here’s how I’ve done it:
I find a good time to bring it up and have learned that I don’t necessarily have to wait until the last day of my clerkship (or for you, it could be your last day shadowing, volunteering, or working). I now prefer to ask a few days before my last day, so that I can answer any lingering questions while I’m still there. I open the conversation with how much I have enjoyed my time with them and feel that we have developed a great relationship in the time I’ve spent with them. Then, I ask if they feel like they could write a LOR in support of my application and if yes, would they be willing to. It’s as simple as that!
I hope this article has helped you and answered some questions you may have head about requesting LORs. Feel free to email me at kinza.hus@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram at @kinzajhussain with questions or advice I could add to this article.
