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Requesting letters of recommendation

October 16, 2025

By Jack Baker and Nicole Paul

Letters of recommendation are required for nearly every academic application, from graduate admissions to fellowships, awards, and faculty positions. But many applicants mistakenly treat letter requests as administrative tasks rather than strategic extensions of their application narrative. This misunderstanding results in candidates with comparable credentials receiving wildly different letters.

Letters play a critical role in supporting a holistic evaluation, situating your achievements in context and providing evidence of your capacity to succeed in this next role. The strongest letters offer specific, personalized evidence tailored to the opportunity, rather than generic platitudes. Evaluation committees read dozens of letters about 'excellent' and 'hard-working' candidates that create no cognitive anchor. However, a letter describing how you independently reformulated a research approach after three weeks of failed attempts provides the committee with a concrete scene to evaluate and remember. Ensuring you get such a letter comes down to selecting the right referees and equipping them with the information they need to advocate for you.

Preparation

First, put in the work ahead of time to demonstrate to your letter writers that you are capable and serious about your professional development and contributions to your community. The more engagement your referees have had with you, the more comfortable and effective they will be when writing. For candidate referees who don’t interact with you regularly (e.g., because they are at a different institution), send occasional updates on your career progress to keep them up to date and maintain dialogue.

Second, research the specific opportunity and consider how you align with it. The post’s language indicates what kind of candidate they want to see and how they will evaluate applications, so find clues to help tailor your message to resonate with those reviewing your application. Look for evaluation criteria, linked strategy documents, or any other information about what makes the department or institution unique. Envision yourself in the role, and identify the qualities of your profile and past activities that best demonstrate your potential in that setting. This thinking will help you with the prompts you provide to your recommenders.

Notice that nothing in this section relates to actually asking for the letters. That's intentional. Most letter-request failures happen before you even send an email. By the time you're writing a professor, the outcome is largely determined by the relationships you've built and the research you've done on the opportunity.

Who to ask

The best referees can speak specifically about your potential for the opportunity. If you are applying to a Ph.D. program and have research experience, a letter from your research supervisor is critical, as they can speak directly to your potential for Ph.D. work. A letter from a work supervisor may be helpful if it addresses your motivation, maturity, or attitude. If you held a leadership role in a student organization or other group, the group's supervisor could be a suitable letter writer. Try to avoid requesting a letter from a professor who gave you a good grade in a class but otherwise did not interact much with you. Your grade is already on your transcript, so you’re using a valuable letter slot to repeat information that the committee already has.

You might assume the most valuable letter would come from the most famous professor you know. Reputation matters, but less than you'd think. Stature and experience matter if they can provide a weighty comparison, such as 'This candidate reminds me of Dr. Chen, who went on to excel in your program.' But if they don’t say much about you specifically, the letter may even be viewed negatively. Prioritize writers who can effectively advocate for you over “high-profile” writers.

Early in your career, the letter requirement might cause panic: you barely know three professors well enough to ask. This concern is understandable, but it reveals a misunderstanding. References aren't credentials you collect; they're relationships you build through engaged participation in research, thoughtful conversations, and follow-through on commitments. But you just need three people who've actually observed you doing substantive work. Start building those relationships now, not when the application due date is imminent.

How to ask

Have a brief conversation with each referee about your situation and the request you are making. Do this in person, if possible, though electronic communication is acceptable if necessary or if the person has written for you before. Explain what you are applying for and why, and whether you need multiple letters for multiple applications. Do this early. A month ahead of time is ideal, as it allows them time to schedule the work and provides you with some buffer in case they decline.

If you can, give the referee an out: "If you don't think you can write me a strong letter, I completely understand and can ask someone else." This may feel risky. Won't it plant doubt? Actually, it does the opposite. It signals maturity and gives hesitant writers an alternative to producing a halfhearted letter. Strong supporters will reassure you. Uncertain ones will reveal themselves. Either outcome is better than the evaluation committee reading a mediocre letter.

If they agree to write, explain what materials you will provide them, and ask if they have any other requests. Then follow up with an email providing details. An example message below lists information to provide.

Provide guidance

Provide writers with your statements, CV, transcript, and any other material that you are submitting. It’s fine if your materials are still in draft form, as long as they show the writer how you are positioning yourself.

It’s also critical to explain the activities, skills, or attributes that you want them to write about. Tie these prompts to specific evidence, and also encourage them to highlight context that may not be clear in your CV (e.g., what specific contributions you made to a collaborative project, or how your work has been picked up or built upon by others). You can also ask them to address circumstances that are difficult to foreground in your own materials. Perhaps you had to balance your studies with work or caregiving responsibilities, or encountered other obstacles. A letter writer can provide context and reframe these challenges as evidence of your ability to manage challenging situations.

When requesting multiple letters from one person for different purposes, highlight if any topics should be emphasized or de-emphasized in each letter. When requesting letters from multiple individuals for a single application, consider how their letters will be perceived collectively. Multiple letters focusing on one particular achievement might add emphasis if it is highly relevant, but could also be viewed as a lack of breadth and could be a missed opportunity for some writers to highlight other evidence.

Providing clear prompts and guidance tailored to the posting can also ensure strong letters across recommenders with differing levels of writing experience. This is particularly important when bridging between industry and academia or across geographies and disciplinary fields (e.g., academic letters are longer and more detailed than industry letters, European writers are sometimes more measured than U.S. writers). An unfortunate reality is that untrained letter writers often emphasize female candidates' personal qualities while emphasizing male candidates' accomplishments. This bias in language patterns leads to worse evaluation outcomes for women. You can mitigate this by providing your letter writer with specific guidance (like this or this or this) and giving them concrete accomplishments to discuss rather than leaving the framing entirely to them.

Monitor and follow up

Before the submission deadline, the application portal may indicate whether your letters have been submitted. If the deadline is approaching and a letter hasn’t been uploaded, it’s appropriate to remind the writer of the deadline.

After receiving a decision, follow up with your writers to report on the outcome and express gratitude for their effort. This is the best way to acknowledge the time and effort they volunteered, and they likely feel invested in the outcome as well. Communication also helps to maintain these relationships, which often last throughout your career. Your recommender today may also be a future recommender or collaborator.

Example request template

Dear [referee],

Thank you for agreeing to provide a reference for [opportunity]. I am excited about the opportunity and appreciate your support of my application. [Note anything unique or specific about the opportunity.]

Your letter should be submitted to [e-mail address or website] by [date] and should be on your institutional letterhead with a signature (a scanned version is fine). [Include any other logistical items.]

My draft application statement, CV, and transcript are attached for your reference. I would also appreciate any feedback you have on my statement.

[Specific notes on what you would like the referee to discuss. See examples below.]

Thank you again for your support through this process.

Sincerely,

[name]

Example specific note 1

It would be great if you could discuss my summer research internship with you. Specifically, when I had the idea to approach the problem using XXX, I followed my idea through to completion even though it required some iterations and refinement. That would help demonstrate that I have the creativity and perseverance to succeed in my next role.

Example specific note 2

Here are some aspects to emphasize relative to earlier letters:

• Policy relevance, practicality, end-user engagement, and > interdisciplinary collaboration. Discussing our World Bank report > and stakeholder workshop would be great.

• My research on XXX, which is a key theme for the opportunity and > the focus of my attached research statement

• My commitment to service, as service is highlighted in the > advertisement. See the ‘Service’ section on my CV for specific > examples you can point to.

Example specific note 3

This scholarship prioritizes service work. I wrote in my essay about my leadership with Engineers for a Sustainable World, and I would appreciate it if you could discuss my contributions there from your perspective as the faculty advisor. It would be particularly helpful for you to discuss the spring service trip that I organized and helped fundraise for while also managing a full course load.