On the phone, I hadn't remembered John's proper name because he had never used it. For me, this example crystallizes what too often happens when students list faculty members whom they have not fully prepared as references. By failing to cultivate a professional relationship with their references, many graduating students undermine their chances to land a job, score a scholarship or gain acceptance to a graduate program. After writing scores of reference letters and reading through hundreds of them over the years, I offer the following tips for helping faculty members and former employers become stellar personal and academic references for you. Begin by discerning how many and what kind of references you need for the circumstances, so that when you approach a potential reference you are ready to answer such questions.
Many small scholarships require just one letter of support from a faculty member.
Graduate schools usually request at least three formal letters of recommendation from professors or research supervisors. Always consider your favorite professors, former supervisors and academic mentors as your best reference candidates. Instead, you are expected to choose references who can speak to your character as well as your communication skills, or research ability, or classroom performance, or suitability for graduate study. Some applications, for instance, encourage you to choose individuals who can speak specifically to your teaching ability or design experience rather than those with the highest stature. Take such advice seriously.