Letters of Recommendation
What Are Letters of Recommendation?
Letters of recommendation are testimonials by professors and past employers
regarding your abilities, skills, and character. It is critical to obtain strong
letters of recommendation for any application process.
How Many Do I Need, and From Whom?
Employers and graduate schools usually require between three and five letters.
Some applications will specify who should write them, while others leave this
to your discretion. The groundwork for securing good recommendations is ongoing
and should start early in your undergraduate career. By the first half of your
senior year, you should be able to identify several faculty members who you
might comfortably approach about recommendations. If you have not developed
such relationships or if you are unsure how to start developing these types
of relationships, please visit the Career Center to schedule an appointment.
Steps to Obtaining a Great Recommendation Letter
· Begin the process at least 4 weeks before you need the letter.
· Choose your references carefully and select those who can really speak
to those talents and abilities, required by the position to which you are applying.
The title or position of the person is not always the best reason to ask for
a recommendation. Some possible recommenders are professors, advisors, internship
and work supervisors or someone in a leadership position of an extracurricular
or volunteer activity. Choose someone familiar with your work product. Most
importantly, choose someone who has had significant contact with you, and who
can speak well of you.
· Ask those identified if they are willing and able to write a strong
letter of support on your behalf. Ask if they know your work and abilities well
enough to write a letter of recommendation for you, and if they would be willing
to do so. If they have reservations, search for an alternative. A weak or lackluster
recommendation can harm your case.
· Set up an appointment to discuss your job or graduate school search
with each reference. This will give you the opportunity to share your background,
goals and qualifications.
· At this meeting, share any of the following: resume, job description,
transcripts, personal statement, application materials, and any information
about the position or grad school that might be helpful. Provide details about
classes taken, projects completed, evaluations received, and any relevant experience.
· Supply the reference with any applicable form to be completed or guidelines
for the letter, including to whom it should be addressed. Feel free to use the
CC Request for Letter of Recommendation form attached. Be sure to highlight
the due dates.
· Provide an envelope with the appropriate address clearly printed and
sufficient postage.
· Shortly before the recommendation is due, confirm that the recommendation
has been completed and sent.
· Send a thank you note or email to each person who has written you a
letter of recommendation. Keep them updated on your job or graduate school search
and be sure to let them know when you’ve accepted a position.
The above steps are still appropriate when asking someone if they can be a telephone reference for you.
Should Letters be Generic or Tailored?
This decision is usually left to the writer. Generic references ("To Whom
It May Concern") are convenient and save time; however, some prefer to
write a new letter each time you need one. Individually tailored letters can
be very helpful, and word processing makes this procedure easy. Because letters
for employment and graduate school are not readily interchangeable, it may prove
advantageous to have your references produce two versions of their recommendation.
The Career Center Recommendation Services
What Are Recommendation Services?
Submitting Letters of Recommendation or Letters of Reference (these terms are
used interchangeably) are necessary for seeking employment or admission to graduate
school. Centralizing your letters in a Recommendation File enables an efficient
job or graduate school search and provides a professional image. The Recommendation
Service allows you to have letters of recommendation forwarded, with a cover
page from Colorado College, to an employer or graduate school. Your recommendation
file only contains letters of recommendation; it does not include transcripts
or other materials.
Opening a Recommendation File and obtaining recommendations before you graduate is an important step in your post-graduate strategy. The process of requesting recommendation letters helps to assure that you are fresh in the mind of the person writing your letter, and allows you to personally meet with faculty members, advisors, and employers. Even if you are not sure you will need these letters for jobs or grad school, request some general letters from professors while you are still fresh in their minds.
How to Establish a Recommendation File
Ask the writers to send their letters, printed on letterhead, directly to the
Career Center, or you may personally submit your recommenders’ letters
to the Career Center. Try to submit originals or high quality copies that have
been signed by the author. Make sure to include proper waiver forms, if necessary.
How Long Can I Use Recommendation Services?
Recommendation files are maintained in the Career Center for five years after
the last active use. After five years, all inactive files are terminated. If
you would like the contents of your file, you must send a written request to
the Career Center. Confidential materials cannot be released without the permission
of the letter's author.
Confidentiality of a Recommendation File
In accordance with the provisions of Section 438 of the Family Education Rights
Privacy Act, commonly known as the Buckley Amendment, students have the right
to access their recommendation file. However, many students waive this right
in order to have confidential letters of recommendation. Each confidential letter
of recommendation must have a waiver form attached (available in the Career
Center). The student and the letter’s author must sign the waiver. The
letter should then come directly from the writer to the Career Center in order
to retain its confidentiality. At no time will a confidential letter be in your
possession. No letter of recommendation can be made confidential after being
received without a waiver.
Confidential vs. Non-Confidential Letters
Many career development professionals suggest that confidential letters are
better than non-confidential ones. In general, a confidential letter may be
more honest about some of your weaknesses and therefore carry more weight. However,
other career development professionals recommend that you never give up your
right to see documents regarding your candidacy, as it is important to have
control over all documents that represent you. Non-confidential letters have
become an acceptable part of the hiring process. Most employers now call references
for verification and clarification.
Maintaining Recommendations
You should keep your file up-to-date. We will retire old letters and add new
ones at your request. A Career Center staff member will be happy to review your
file with you. We cannot disclose the contents or nature of any confidential
letter of recommendation, however.
How Do I Send Recommendations from my Recommendation File?
In order to have the contents of your recommendation file sent to an employer
or graduate school, you must provide the Career Center with a written request
including your signature. Requests must include complete addressee information;
clearly indicating name, title, organization, street address, city, state and
zip code. Please allow up to three working days to process your request. It
is your responsibility to make sure this will meet application deadlines. We
cannot honor phone requests. Fax requests are permissible. Call the Career Center
if you have any additional questions at (719) 389-6893.
Mail your request to:
Colorado College
Career Center
14 E. Cache La Poudre Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Fax your request to: (719) 389-6804
For transcripts call: (719) 389-6728