Asking employer without offending

[foodlover28]

I've secured letters from my professors, but I'm having trouble gathering the strength and courage to ask my employer. I know he's already writing letters for someone else; I will be applying to a field that is slightly different than the industry I'm working in, so...

can someone give me advice about how to approach my employer without offending him for leaving my job?

I don't want him to get the impression that I'm leaving b/c I don't like the job (which is not true).

[Nadeen]

I've secured letters from my professors, but I'm having trouble gathering the strength and courage to ask my employer. I know he's already writing letters for someone else; I will be applying to a field that is slightly different than the industry I'm working in, so...

can someone give me advice about how to approach my employer without offending him for leaving my job?

I don't want him to get the impression that I'm leaving b/c I don't like the job (which is not true).

I did the same thing, and I was just honest. I basically sent him an email saying that I've decided I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in such and such field and that I would be eternally grateful if he would agree to write a letter of recommendation for me. Luckily, my boss is pretty awesome and was very sweet and supportive. I say just go for it and you might be surprised by the outcome! good luck

[foodlover28]

I did the same thing, and I was just honest. I basically sent him an email saying that I've decided I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in such and such field and that I would be eternally grateful if he would agree to write a letter of recommendation for me. Luckily, my boss is pretty awesome and was very sweet and supportive. I say just go for it and you might be surprised by the outcome! good luck

Thanks for the encouragement Nadeen!

Did you go into a lot of details about why you are going for your master's program? I'm running the conversation in my head, trying to decide how I'm going to talk about my reason for pursuing a different field. But I also don't want it to sound like a long and unnecessary explanation for leaving; instead I want him to know that I'm truly passionate about the field I want to study.

[rachaelski]

I typically send a letter writer my personal statement, that way it gives them a sense of what and why I am doing graduate school, and it helps them to align their recommendation to your overall application.

[Nadeen]

Thanks for the encouragement Nadeen!

Did you go into a lot of details about why you are going for your master's program? I'm running the conversation in my head, trying to decide how I'm going to talk about my reason for pursuing a different field. But I also don't want it to sound like a long and unnecessary explanation for leaving; instead I want him to know that I'm truly passionate about the field I want to study.

I didn't really go into explaining it, to be honest. I said that I finally decided on what I wanted to study in depth and that I wanted to apply to some programs for it. I kind of tried to make it sound as natural as possible. Like, don't let them think you're unhappy with your current place but that you've decided on something that's right for you. I hope this helps!