Asking my Boss for a letter of recommendation

[SKaminski]

Hey,

I graduated in 2011. I plan on taking the MCAT's in March, and wanted to get a Letter of Rec from my boss. I've been working here for over 6 months, and would likely wait until AFTER i get my test results back to ask. That puts me at 1 year of employment.

When I initially came onto the team, I emphasized my long-term goals with the company. I work in healthcare, and at one point the CEO (my boss) directly asked me: Do you intend on becoming a doctor. I said no. (I can always say that working as a Healthcare Consultant and interacting with doctors i've changed my mind, so NBD.)

Anyways, what would be the best method for approaching getting an LoR from my current boss? I figured it would show extremely positively on me if i could secure a LoR from my current employer.

Thoughts?

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[ShenanigansMD]

As long as you have your bases covered (science, research, girlfriend, etc.) it shouldn't hurt.

 

[GrinchMD]

Hey,
Anyways, what would be the best method for approaching getting an LoR from my current boss? I figured it would show extremely positively on me if i could secure a LoR from my current employer.

How about you do a really good job at work for the next six months? Give him a good reason, and plenty of examples, to work with when crafting a letter. Not rocket science here, show up on time, do more than is asked of you, create value for your company...

Show extremely positively on you? Umm, just getting a letter from your employer is not that big of an accomplishment...

 

[spacetomatoes]

at one point the CEO (my boss) directly asked me: Do you intend on becoming a doctor. I said no. (I can always say that working as a Healthcare Consultant and interacting with doctors i've changed my mind, so NBD.)

This part confuses me a little. I'm assuming that if you've been with the company for six months, you were interviewing in April of this year. Did you truly not plan on applying to medical school at that point or was that stretching the truth a little? If it is true, is this job what inspired you to become a doctor?

My concern would be having something incongruent on my application. For instance, if you're going to put in your personal statement that you've wanted to be a doctor since you broke your arm and the doctor was nice to you when you were 7 years old, and your current employer writes in a LOR that you decided to be a doctor within the last year, that could throw up a little red flag. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but just something to think about.

In terms of asking, I wrote a personal letter to all my letter writers and put it in a packet with my professional resume, my educational resume and a tentative list of schools I'd be applying to. My goal was for my application to read a little bit like a research paper (only less boring, obviously). If I said something in my personal statement, I wanted it backed up somewhere else on my application, either by a work/activity or a LOR. So to this end, in the personal letters, I highlighted a few things that I thought the specific letter writer might be particularly able to mention.

You also might want to think about telling your employer you're going to apply BEFORE you ask them for a letter. That way they're not shocked about you leaving while they're trying to write. Just a thought.

Anyway, hope this helps!

 

[type12]

I never asked my boss (the president), but I asked the Vice President, who has told me flat-out, "you're too ambitious for this place. Did you ever consider becoming a doctor?" I bet there is someone in your workplace who sees a lot of potential in you. Just because someone is a junior rank of a company med schools never heard of vs CEO won't make as big a deal as an awesome recommendation.

 

[MedPR]

Hey,

I graduated in 2011. I plan on taking the MCAT's in March, and wanted to get a Letter of Rec from my boss. I've been working here for over 6 months, and would likely wait until AFTER i get my test results back to ask. That puts me at 1 year of employment.

When I initially came onto the team, I emphasized my long-term goals with the company. I work in healthcare, and at one point the CEO (my boss) directly asked me: Do you intend on becoming a doctor. I said no. (I can always say that working as a Healthcare Consultant and interacting with doctors i've changed my mind, so NBD.)

Anyways, what would be the best method for approaching getting an LoR from my current boss? I figured it would show extremely positively on me if i could secure a LoR from my current employer.

Thoughts?

What are you taking from the MCAT?

You can't get an LOR from your boss since you told them you didn't plan on going to medical school.