Help finding an author for LOR

[1mhotep]

Hello, I have a few questions for writing my own Letter of Recommendation as my time in a leadership position comes to an end. For some background information, the leadership position was in a prominent role as part of a volunteering program at a hospital, providing an intersection of leadership and clinical experience that I would really like to maximize. Any help would be appreciated!

First, who should I ask to write it? The volunteering program is a "franchised" corporate organization at many hospitals and so I had a multitude of different supervisors/program managers who I worked under during my two years in Leadership. Currently, I am corresponding with the last program manager I worked under, but the problem is during my final months in the position I was certainly less engaged than before and I also only worked with this person intermittently for a few months. The letter would be written with a template provided by the company so I would really just be providing input on some experiences I would like to be included. Does anyone have any experiences with these templates? To me, it sounds fishy and I would rather have no letter than a weak letter.

Is it valid to ask my extensive time across different supervisors be included in the letter? Would this matter to an adcom, or do they want someone with a more concrete relationship with the applicant to be the author? Is it possible to ask one of my previous program managers (who have since left the organization) to author the letter and include my experiences from even after they were no longer my supervisor?

Thank you!

 

[eigen]

Why are you asking for a letter from this opportunity? Letters from employers aren't mandatory, and often aren't your strongest letters for an application.

I'm a bit confused about your phrasing about "writing" this letter, and I can't imagine a template letter will be strong enough to be worth including in your package.

 

[1mhotep]

Why are you asking for a letter from this opportunity? Letters from employers aren't mandatory, and often aren't your strongest letters for an application.

I'm a bit confused about your phrasing about "writing" this letter, and I can't imagine a template letter will be strong enough to be worth including in your package.

I dedicated a lot of time and effort to my position there and without something from them I might only have two LOR’s to include in my application. Unfortunately, I was a student who did well in classes but did not stand out in a way I would’ve felt comfortable asking a LOR for, except for one whose professor I have been able to get one from. By “writing” I meant they want me to send them a draft or list of experiences I want them to include or focus on in the letter. I agree with the template part but the only other option would be reaching out to the previous supervisor and following a more traditional LOR writing approach. However, I’m unsure whether it’s okay for them to speak to my continued efforts in the program after they left their position.

 

[Moko]

I dedicated a lot of time and effort to my position there and without something from them I might only have two LOR’s to include in my application. Unfortunately, I was a student who did well in classes but did not stand out in a way I would’ve felt comfortable asking a LOR for, except for one whose professor I have been able to get one from. By “writing” I meant they want me to send them a draft or list of experiences I want them to include or focus on in the letter. I agree with the template part but the only other option would be reaching out to the previous supervisor and following a more traditional LOR writing approach. However, I’m unsure whether it’s okay for them to speak to my continued efforts in the program after they left their position.

Unfortunately, many schools require 3 LORs from faculty members who have taught you (typically 2 science, 1 non-science), so having just two letters from professors will typically be insufficient.

If you are not confident your supervisors from this experience will write you a glowing LOR, then I would suggest not getting a supplementary letter from them. Your letter writer need not be your most recent supervisor, but it should be someone who can speak knowledgably (and positively) about your characteristics and contributions. Just my thoughts.