It is an honor to be asked to be someone’s character reference. But even if you are enthused about helping a friend or colleague out, you might feel a little intimidated by the prospect of putting the ...

Shortly after becoming a full professor, I asked a colleague who had held that rank for years to name the greatest challenge she had faced in this ultimate chapter of faculty life. Her instant reply: ...

One of the important "service" responsibilities of academics is to write letters of recommendation. For some people, this activity — precisely because of the responsibility it entails — is daunting.

Personal recommendations are an important request and require special attention to make them suitable. If you’ve been asked to write a personal letter of recommendation for a friend, you may have ...

Letters of recommendation are the most important component to an application, next to the essays written by the candidates. Referees are advised to provide as much relevant detail as possible.

Question: In my department, we are finding that the largest problem in evaluating candidates for new appointments, promotion, or tenure is in their letters of reference, which often fail to address ...

For some jobs, especially in academia and high-profile positions, employers sometimes request that top candidates submit letters of recommendation as part of the decision-making process. In some ...

You have /3 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in. Writing reference letters for students and postdocs is part of my job responsibilities as an ...