Thank you letters for referees?

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lllix

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So I got my boss/head pharmacist and another pharmacist who I also work closely with to write my reference letters, but I am at a loss as to how to show my appreciation. I thought of a simple thank you card and ... I dunno, a gift card to Starbucks or something like that, but at the same time... I am a poor 20 year old student/pharmacy tech and it just seems like a drop in the bucket compared to what the pharmacists make themselves. Plus I am still working there and I feel kind of cheesy about the whole concept.

So my question is what should I do to be polite and thank them (despite obviously having already said it to them personally) and adequately show them my appreciation?
 
For my references I gave them a card and a gift card to like Cheesecake Factory, BJs, or Rock Bottom, somewhere they could take their significant other for a nice meal. I know it may seem like a drop in the bucket, but as cliche as it may sound, its the thought that matters. I'm sure they will appreciate the fact that you appreciate them.

PS. props to Canada for not only hosting, but owning the olympics.
 
Find out what they like and give them a gift card for it. You could ask around to figure out what they might want.
 
I agree that it's the thought that counts. My supervisor actually told me that I don't have to get her anything as she understands how was it like being a "poor" college student herself...just don't neglect the thank-you cards and you should be fine.
 
To me it seems odd that you would give anything besides a verbal thank you. Giving a gift actually seems unethical. They are writing you a reference letter because they feel you deserve it...end of story. I am from Illinois and we had this governor Blago who was looking to sell Obama's senate seat and he is now impeached. I know it is not the same thing, but still yet it is probably better not to give a gift for a reference letter.
 
To me it seems odd that you would give anything besides a verbal thank you. Giving a gift actually seems unethical. They are writing you a reference letter because they feel you deserve it...end of story. I am from Illinois and we had this governor Blago who was looking to sell Obama's senate seat and he is now impeached. I know it is not the same thing, but still yet it is probably better not to give a gift for a reference letter.

i didnt give my thank you's until after I had already received the letter and it was already on its way to pharmcas. it certainly would be unethical if you gave the gift card to try to persuade the reference to write a better letter.
 
I agree. Just a verbal thank you or a thank you card should suffice.

To me it seems odd that you would give anything besides a verbal thank you. Giving a gift actually seems unethical. They are writing you a reference letter because they feel you deserve it...end of story. I am from Illinois and we had this governor Blago who was looking to sell Obama's senate seat and he is now impeached. I know it is not the same thing, but still yet it is probably better not to give a gift for a reference letter.
 
PS. props to Canada for not only hosting, but owning the olympics.

Thanks! With any luck I will get accepted to UBC and will get to move to Vancouver this fall!

And thanks for your advice, you guys. I already got the reference letters so it's not a question of bribing them or anything like that. I wll think on it some more, I suppose.
 
A verbal thank you will certainly suffice 🙂

I see the people who gave me references almost everyday at work/school. I just wrote them a nice thank you e-mail and thanked them in person.
 
I think a gift card is too much.

A hand-written note that they can proudly display in their office (on a blank card perhaps) is worth much more than an IKEA gift card or something. Besides, you're equating their letter of reference to a certain monetary value.

I hate gift cards.

"Hi, I think your friendship/birthday/anniversary/whatever is worth precisely $15 in Starbucks coffee, enjoy!"

Ugh.
 
It doesn't always have to mean that if you give them a gift card for something you know they will like.

For example, if your pharmacist likes coffee and you get a gift card for Starbucks, that's not too bad.
 
😕 I bought all of mine Waterford clocks for their offices ...
 
I actually disagree.. . . all three letters I had were from the 3 head pharmacists I work with year round. ( I work at a chain store and my boss "loans" me out when the other stores request me when thier head techs go on vacay) And I gave a card and a gift specific to each of them. The way I see it is that a card is nice but doesn't say much because its common practice and just a display of manners. They went out of the way to get to know me prior to me applying and then try to incorperate that in their letters. So I figure the best gesture would be to do something for them that showed that I made a point to know them personally too.

I guess since the people I work with are more like family it didn't make this hard, plus it doesn't have to cost you much! The one pharmacists LOVES home baking so I made him my "famous" apple pie lol. The other is a jokester so I got him a funny tee from his fav TV show. Then for my boss since he is there for me all the time I got him a carhartt vest he'd been eyeing but has put off cuz he has a family of 5 kids to tend to. All together I spent like $60 which wasn't much for what I got in return!
 
I think the OP got what we're trying to say...let's move on to the next subject. What should I give to my family b4 I go to pharmacy school. Gift card? or a hug? And i'm not trolling!
 
I think the OP got what we're trying to say...let's move on to the next subject. What should I give to my family b4 I go to pharmacy school. Gift card? or a hug? And i'm not trolling!

lol right, not trolling 🙄

Did you want a serious response?
 
I agree with the others lol. There isn't much a ~20 year old college kid can buy for a pharmacist that they couldn't buy 10 of themselves lol!

And Passion4Sci's hand written note sounds really lame. You're analogy of worth works both ways... "Oh so I'm worth exactly a piece of paper and 5 minutes of writing."

If you can do something unique do it, otherwise food and giftcards work well lol.
 
Once you reach that stage when someone is willing to vouch on your behalf, I've followed up with a note after an initial thank you note, to let them know that this happened next and anything else relevant. Very short and simple.

Also, for profs its kinda part of the job, so they aren't doing you any special favors as a reference. It's nice to see how far you've come and it didn't happen just on your own.
 
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