Boss asked for paragraph work for letter of rec. Tips

[cbx2v]

Boss man asked for a paragraph on what I'm most proud of at work and what I've learned in the years I've been here before he writes his letter of rec. I'm wondering how self-aggrandizing I should try to be. He told me not to be modest-- and that he would punch it up in his actual letter -- but I don't know where the line is. Also, I hate talking about myself and don't know what to write or how much detail I should get into... Any tips would be appreciated.

[TakeruK]

I have a lot of problems with this too. I encountered this a lot when writing research proposals where I need to also justify why my skills and experience make me a good candidate. I found it really helpful to read other people's proposals (from past years) to help calibrate the scale for this. This seems more difficult for you though, unless you happen to know several recent grads who did similar things for this person?

Alternatively, I also find it helpful to stick to facts and quantifiable things. I always have a hard time choosing adjectives and adverbs when describing my own achievements since I feel I either go too weak or too strong/arrogant. So I would write things like:

I have X amount of experience using Y equipment. I analyzed N samples of ABC and written M papers. My work contributed to P papers written by other people. etc.

And since you were told not to be modest, it's okay to write anything that you think might be viewed positively. The letter writer will add their own adjectives/adverbs to compare you to other students positively and they can choose what to actually include. Better to have it and them choose to not use it than the other way around.

[cbx2v]

On 11/4/2016 at 5:27 PM, TakeruK said:

I have a lot of problems with this too. I encountered this a lot when writing research proposals where I need to also justify why my skills and experience make me a good candidate. I found it really helpful to read other people's proposals (from past years) to help calibrate the scale for this. This seems more difficult for you though, unless you happen to know several recent grads who did similar things for this person?

Alternatively, I also find it helpful to stick to facts and quantifiable things. I always have a hard time choosing adjectives and adverbs when describing my own achievements since I feel I either go too weak or too strong/arrogant. So I would write things like:

I have X amount of experience using Y equipment. I analyzed N samples of ABC and written M papers. My work contributed to P papers written by other people. etc.

And since you were told not to be modest, it's okay to write anything that you think might be viewed positively. The letter writer will add their own adjectives/adverbs to compare you to other students positively and they can choose what to actually include. Better to have it and them choose to not use it than the other way around.

Sorry for the delayed reply!

Thanks for your help! I'm the only one who has ever done anything for this guy, so I just suck to the facts as you suggested. Thank you for the advice!

[Connie @ TheArtofApplying]

 

On 11/5/2016 at 5:15 AM, cbx2v said:

Boss man asked for a paragraph on what I'm most proud of at work and what I've learned in the years I've been here before he writes his letter of rec. I'm wondering how self-aggrandizing I should try to be. He told me not to be modest-- and that he would punch it up in his actual letter -- but I don't know where the line is. Also, I hate talking about myself and don't know what to write or how much detail I should get into... Any tips would be appreciated.

@cbx2v, providing a paragraph to your boss is a great idea I would encourage adopting for any recommender. It can feel weird talking yourself up a lot, but that’s your recommender’s job. Make it easier for them to do their job by reiterating your accomplishments and mentioning what you would like them to emphasize. Don’t assume they know what your strengths or biggest accomplishments are; spell out exactly what you’ve done and how you have contributed. 

Admissions committees look to your letters of recommendation to see how you operate in different spheres. While adcoms have multiple sources of information about your academic strengths (your GRE, GPA, academic recommendations), the letter from your boss is one of the few sources of information about your professional experience. A good professional rec letter can speak to how well you work with teammates, your professional skills and strengths, your work ethic, and more. Think about where you shine or have grown in the professional context, especially if it won’t come through in other parts of your application, and ask your boss to speak about them. 

Some recommenders offload this task to you, the applicant, in fact! Occasionally, you might be asked to draft a letter for them, which they will then edit and send out directly. Schools in general really don't like it when applicants have anything to do with the letter of recommendation drafting process. However, in our experience, many applicants are put in the position of having to help with content for the letter of recommendation, so just know that this is a common (though frowned upon by schools) practice. Best of luck with your letters!