Appropriate to ask professor to write a recommendation email to follow up with top school?

[psychra22]

Finished with interviews and one school is my absolute top choice. I've done a bit of work for a PI at my current job who knows the POI at this school well. They "run in the same circle" of researchers. I did not use this particular person as a rec letter writer for my applications, but now I do think a note from this person to the POI couldn't hurt (now that I've finished interviewing and know it's my first choice).

1. Is this appropriate to ask of a PI at this stage of the process? I'm viewing if sort of as an informal recommendation. Short email that just says "by the way I know this applicant and they are great. They were really excited to talk with me about their recent visit to your program." Or will this request make the PI uncomfortable? Ive worked with them some... but not enough to have them write me one of my 3 letters of rec.

2. On the receiving end-- is there a chance that the POI at top choice school will see this as a negative? That I'm trying to pull strings or be a kiss ass? I don't want to go overboard...

Thanks- from a mind that is slowly going crazy after a month of interviews and is now over analyzing everything...

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[EmotRegulation]

If I got an email from a colleague/friend who told me a candidate was REALLY interested in my lab/my program and gave unsolicited praise for that person, I would certainly consider that information. I wouldn't see it as negative. Might not change my mind if there was someone else I liked more, but we really do want to give offers to people who WANT to be here. It's often hard to gauge real interest from an interview--it's your job at the interview to seem interested, so getting independent verification would be a good thing for me.

 

[aly cat]

If I got an email from a colleague/friend who told me a candidate was REALLY interested in my lab/my program and gave unsolicited praise for that person, I would certainly consider that information. I wouldn't see it as negative. Might not change my mind if there was someone else I liked more, but we really do want to give offers to people who WANT to be here. It's often hard to gauge real interest from an interview--it's your job at the interview to seem interested, so getting independent verification would be a good thing for me.

I agree with this generally, but I would NOT want to be the PI whom you ask to do this.. depending on the circumstances it may rub me the wrong way. I think the safest bet is to work into conversation with the PI that you know they know/work with so-and-so and that you interviewed at X and would really love to work with so-and-so.

 

[deleted343839]

I think the safest bet is to work into conversation with the PI that you know they know/work with so-and-so and that you interviewed at X and would really love to work with so-and-so.

That's probably how I would handle it too. People do backchannel about students in this way, but you have to have good judgment about the situation and it sounds like the OP doesn't have a strong relationship yet with this PI.

 

[EmotRegulation]

I agree with this generally, but I would NOT want to be the PI whom you ask to do this.. depending on the circumstances it may rub me the wrong way. I think the safest bet is to work into conversation with the PI that you know they know/work with so-and-so and that you interviewed at X and would really love to work with so-and-so.

Yes, I was responding from the "if I got such an email as a POI" perspective. I also agree that if a student who I didn't know all that well ASKED me to write such an email to a colleague, I would NOT be particularly happy about doing it.