Asking boss to write letter of recommendation...

[socialequity]

Hello!

 

I will be applying to graduate programs this Fall and my boss said she would definitely write a letter for me.  I have two close professors for the other two letters.

 

I've worked in a corporate environment for over 13 years so a letter from "work" is most likely necessary.  However, my concern is - I'm applying to roughly ten programs (need to apply broadly to better align the same city for my husband's post-doc job) and I'm concerned that she is way too busy to login to 10 different websites to submit her recommendation. 

 

Has anyone had this issue? Is it even an issue? Any advice on this?

[free_radical]

Hey I understand how you feel - I also had some industry supervisors write LORs for me.  Many people have said that professors see writing LORs as part of the job, but its...not really true for industry supervisors!  So yeah, I got a little worried when I applied too, but it wasn't an issue. Honestly, I don't really know what to say except just be appreciative, give plenty of notice, etc...if you have done good work and your boss likes you, I don't think they'll have a problem with it.  

 

One thing you could try to do - that I found out after my application cycle: So some schools just want recommendation writers to submit a standard letter (i.e. they just upload the same letter they wrote several times), but others have specialized forms where the writers have to go in and answer specific questions.  The second type was annoying, I felt so bad because of the extra time these took!  So you could try and find out which schools on your list ask for what type of recommendation, and warn your boss of the schools that are requiring specialized forms.  If you're flexible in where you want to apply, you can try and avoid these schools.  But don't worry too much about it, you're not the only one .  

[zapster]

I had the same concern, but my supervisor(s) at work were amazingly helpful, understood the requirement and did not seem to mind (or atleast did not show it!). I think the key was to set expectations upfront - I must have repeated a dozen times that it was a cumbersome process and I want to apply to XXX universities - and their response was to "bring it on". But of course, this depends from person to person.......

 

My suggestion - be upfront...tell her that she might be required to login to 10 different websites and fill in stuff. Ask her if that is ok. Once she knows what to expect and then commits, it should not be an issue. Give her adequate lead time before the deadlines.

[nehs]

I had the same dilemma. I contacted past supervisors (from old jobs) and surprisingly all of them agreed to write.

 

I would email/call/meet and tell that you are applying to 10 different schools and say you also need 10 letters. Give plenty of time. Offer help. I told them " I can come sit with you as you take notes". This made the process so much faster!