A Note about Reference Letters and Other Forms of Recommendation

I frequently get requests for reference letters and other forms of recommendation from students seeking employment, internships or further educational opportunities. While I gladly act as a reference for my students, I have several policies that I follow. Please keep the following in mind when you request that I act as a reference for you. Please note that I may choose to make exceptions to any and all of these policies solely at my own discretion.

- You have to inform me that you are listing me as a reference either before, or as soon as you give my contact information to potential employers and other relevant parties. If you do not, and I get a phone call or an e-mail asking for information about you, I will have to turn down the request, since I need your consent prior to giving out information about you.

- I need at least a full week’s notice to write a reference letter. I may ask for more time depending on how busy I am at the time of request.

- I do not give letters to students to be delivered to potential employers or academic institutions. I either mail hard copies, or e-mail soft copies directly to the person addressed in the letter. I reserve the right to use whichever of these two methods I choose.

- I normally do not submit reference letters and other forms of recommendation, if the candidate in question has, will have, or may have access to the recommendation that I submit. Consequently, if you do not waive your rights of access to my recommendation, I most probably will choose not to submit a reference letter or some other form of recommendation about you.

- I do not provide public recommendation or endorsements, such as those published on LinkedIn or similar websites. If you ask for one of those, I will categorically turn down your request. However, fell free to add me as a contact on LinkedIn.

- I cannot guarantee that the letter I will write for you is going to be strong. You need to choose your references wisely.

- Finally, I request that you inform me about the result of the application, for which you use my recommendation.

Vedat Diker