Selecting Referees - please help!

[Jewel09]

I have a few questions regarding referees. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

1. Is it highly recommended to have one of your previous employers as a referee - because I am not comfortable asking my previous employers for references as they did not know be that well - i was working as as a summer research student and the P.I was almost always out of the lab - only the grad students knew me well .

 

2. Is it a good idea to ask a grad student to write a LOR for you - he has a MD from another country but is right now a masters student. I am pretty sure he would give me a great reference if I asked him.'

 

3. Would it be sabotaging if I ask a person who has known me for only a few months to write a LOR for me?

 

Thanks guys!!!

[9mAoTo]

In many cases, the PI will write you a letter of reference with significant input from the person you worked most closely with (in this case, the MD/grad student). You could ask and see if that's an option....

[future_doc]

I have a few questions regarding referees. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

1. Is it highly recommended to have one of your previous employers as a referee - because I am not comfortable asking my previous employers for references as they did not know be that well - i was working as as a summer research student and the P.I was almost always out of the lab - only the grad students knew me well .

 

2. Is it a good idea to ask a grad student to write a LOR for you - he has a MD from another country but is right now a masters student. I am pretty sure he would give me a great reference if I asked him.'

 

3. Would it be sabotaging if I ask a person who has known me for only a few months to write a LOR for me?

 

Thanks guys!!!

 

Unless you receive a strong LOR, it is meaningless and could do you harm, certainly no good.

 

I like your No. 2 above, and believe it is safe and the best option. Of course, stories are the key to back up your qualities, you don't want a laundry list that is missing back-up.

 

Re No. 3: Normally, someone should know you for a longer period. However, profs routinely give out LORs for students who took their class that they barely knew. So, it is a judgment call. Try to find someone else who knows you longer and who can cover the territory in a strong LOR. If this is impossible, then, go for it, but the person will need to validate well his/her assessment.

[Jewel09]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, my P.I is a little stiff so it is difficult to ask him to give a reference with input from the graduate students

I was thinking #2 like futuredoc suggested but it is the qualifications I am worried about. I have worked in 3 different labs so would they not expect at least from one of the P.Is ? (and sadly, two of them are out of reach). Won't it be a disadvantage for a graduate student to provide reference rather than a P.I ?

[future_doc]

Won't it be a disadvantage for a graduate student to provide reference rather than a P.I ?

 

You work with the best you have! And if the reference is honest, complete and strong, it will be treated on the merits.

[WaveSense]

PIs arn't stupid. They know people need references. I'm almost 100% sure if you asked your PI for a reference they'll automatically ask your supervising student, you don't even have to ask him to ask the MSC student. They won't write you a crappy reference just because they didn't directly oversee you. My supervisor asks me all the time what my student is doing and what mark s/he deserves. I personally would NEVER ask a student for a reference, doesn't matter if they're a MD in another country because in the end they're more your friend than your boss IMO.

[chris]

this is slightly off topic...but i'm planning on asking a work supervisor to write a LOR for me (not a lab supervisor, just a summer job manager). I think he knows me well enough to write me a letter but the problem is that his grammar is horrible (English is not his first language). He writes very simple sentences but can sometimes make basic grammatical errors. Will this hurt me in the end?