How to ask for a letter of recommendation

How to ask for a letter of recommendationAt every professional stage in life (job searching, job switching, promotion seeking), there will come a time when you need to ask someone to write you a letter of recommendation. Though not as common as they once were, many would-be employers still want to know that someone vouches for you. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) If the thought of asking someone to say nice things about you makes you nervous, dont worryits awkward for everyone. Here are a few tips on how to make the asking as easy as possible for everyone involved.Ask someone who really likes you.This seems like a given, but its worth stressing only ask people you are certain will say wonderful, glowing things about you. Just because you worked for someone and did the bare extremum doesnt mean he or she thinks fondly of you. If you were forgettable, youre going to get a bland and generic letter.Remember, this doesnt always have to be a f ormer (or current) boss. A colleague at your level is fine so is someone youve worked with on volunteer projects outside of work. The key is that he or she can vouch for the exact skills the partie receiving the letter wants in an employee.Offer to clarify.The mora information you give, the easier it is for someone to knock out a letter. After you receive a yes, get specific. After saying thank you (always say thank you), describe in detail the specific job youre applying for and what talking points would be most useful. You can give a list of skills the hiring manager wants in an applicant and remind the person youre asking about how you have exhibited those skills in the past. It can also be helpful to outline some of your recent and past achievements for them to reference without having to look them up or ask.Be prepared to draft it yourself.A lot of times busier people will ask you to sketch out (or write entirely) the letter by yourself. Always say yes. Take the list of achieve ments this person knows youve accomplished, match them up with the list of requirements from the job posting, and go to town. In most cases, he or she willlook it over, make a few cosmetic changes, and then sign it. Youve made everyones life easierRespect peoples time.Waiting until the last minute and then saying, Please get this to me tomorrow, is rude and inconsiderate. Your letter of recommendation is not among the most important things in someones life, and no one should have to drop everything just because you were too lazy to ask in advance. Give someone at least a week (and ideally two or three) to get you a letter.Just ask.Popping the question can be hard, but you wont get a letter if you dont ask for it. Yes, you might feel uncomfortable asking someone to do a favor for you, but if youre smart about who you ask and pick someone who only has glowing things to say, chances are he or she will be more than happy to do it. Give the key details, throw in a little flattery, and as k away.

How to use Twitter for Networking

How to use Twitter for Networking Share Share via TwitterShare via FacebookShare via Google PlusShare via LinkedInShare via E-mail Social media can be a powerful networking tool, connecting you to professional communities and timely conversations around the world, but making those anfangsbuchstabe connectionscan be very intimidating. Here are some guidelines to help you use Twitter to network.Make an account.If you already have a personal Twitter, consider creating an account that is solely for your professional social media rather than folding your professional content into your personal accounts timeline. If you go viral with professional content on a mixed-use account, that selfie from six years ago might come back to haunt you. Likewise, think very carefully about handlesfor professional accounts, your name or a word or phrase that is connected with you or your work might be a better choice than an in-joke from your undergrad days.Use appropriate renommees for your icon and cover photo. Twitter provides aplaceholder image that used to be an egg, which troll accounts typically use and are often called eggs by longstanding Twitter users. A popular option in Twitters settings, for example, allows users to ignore all responses from accounts using the default image placeholder. A distinct image, even if its leid of you, allows you to signify that you are not a troll.Bonus tip Pinned tweets are a good place to put a link to your last paper or talkFind your people.Once youve made an account, identify people who are talking about the issues you want to be a part of. A good way to identify fellow professionals is to watch for conference hashtags and then see which accounts are posting on those hashtags. You can also use the search tool to look for conversations involving keywords or phrases, and identify accounts that are starting or contributing to those conversations.A word of caution dont respond to conversations that are mora than a week old it is con sidered poor etiquette for Twitter. Likewise, when you follow someone or gain a new follower, dont DM them this is considered a thirst move and will seem unprofessional.Listen before you leap.When you have started to identify these people, follow, but be respectful. Listen for a while before you start engaging. Dont clog their mentions and dont tag them in on every thought you have. Accustom yourself to the way professionals in your field use Twitter and what kinds of conversations they have and dont have on their professional accounts. You can model your usage on those norms or let your own comfort levels dictate what you share, but respect the limits of others around engagement or details. Remember that someone who uses social media differently than you do is not doing it wrong, just differently.Be polite.Once you have been following for a while, you can start to respond or use other peoples threads as a jumping off point for your own thoughts on a topic. Begin to engage with hash tags specific to your field, or jump in on field-specific polls or conversations. Remember to be politeone thing that social media can be misleading about is the degree of intimacy you have with other social media users. Try not to overestimate your level of connection with someone, especially if they are a leader in your field. They probably field a lot of attempts at engagement every day from other users, some of which are likely to be hostile. If you argue or come out swinging, you are likely to be blocked immediately, and you will lose access not only to their social media stream and goodwill but also potentially to a valuable future connection.(Original) content is king.Try to mix up your responses and signal boosting with original content. Your engagement appeal is predicated mostly on your own thoughts, not those of other people that you retweet. When your follower count starts to rise, it will usually be because of original content, not because of other peoples content that you push out to your followers. Thats not to say that you should never retweet or respond, but that you should be careful to include original content in your timeline provide value for your followers in the same way that the people you follow provide value to you.Twitter has its own lingo.Last but not least, Twitter speaks its own language and failing to learn that language will end with you looking foolish at best. Dont be afraid to Google terms youre not familiar with before trying to use them, especially if they tend to be paired in ordinary Twitter interactions with memes or certain types of conversations or emoji, lest you receive the dreaded Steve Buscemi meme.CategoriesGraduate StudentsTagsExpert Advice - Graduate Students