Writing my own LoR

[parabolic]

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I've worked as a tech since January and had been planning to ask the pharmacist if she'd write me a recommendation, but I'm moving out of state soon. It would be slightly awkward to go up to her and say, "Would you write me an LOR? By the way, this is my two weeks' notice." And about as awkward to let her know I'm leaving, and then ask for one.

Another option is getting a new job where I'm moving and asking the pharmacist there for a recommendation, but even if I could get a job as a tech immediately and even if I waited until the last possible minute to ask for that LOR (which I really don't want to do), I'd still have known that pharmacist for less time than the one at my current job.

This move is coming at a rather inopportune time.

Any suggestions? To the pharmacists, would any of you be offended by a tech (of < 6 months at that) who asked for an LOR while telling you that she's leaving?

Thanks, folks...

 

[omnione]

Your thread title made it sound that you wanted US to write your LOR and that you were leaving us with it.🙂

If you know that first pharmacist well and if your move doesn't have anything with her personally, then I would ask your current boss as she knows you better. I don't think it's awkward at all as asking her is more of an inconvenience than awkward.

 

[binghamkid]

There's nothing awkward about requesting a letter just as you're leaving. As long as you do so in an organized and professional manner (and you've done a good job at the job), then you are by all means allowed to do so. Your pharmacist has asked for letters of recommendation in the past; i'm sure they know exactly what you're going through. Just be confident and be sure to thank them for everything they've allowed you to experience.

 

[Caverject]

I've worked as a tech since January and had been planning to ask the pharmacist if she'd write me a recommendation, but I'm moving out of state soon. It would be slightly awkward to go up to her and say, "Would you write me an LOR? By the way, this is my two weeks' notice." And about as awkward to let her know I'm leaving, and then ask for one.

It maybe awkward for you but it's really not a big deal. If you have a decent reason as to why you are moving/quiting and you are liked by the pharmacist in question, I am sure this person would be more than happy to do that for you. The pharmacist in question may also want to fill out your LOR's before you leave so be prepared for that.

Another option is getting a new job where I'm moving and asking the pharmacist there for a recommendation, but even if I could get a job as a tech immediately and even if I waited until the last possible minute to ask for that LOR (which I really don't want to do), I'd still have known that pharmacist for less time than the one at my current job.

This move is coming at a rather inopportune time.

Any suggestions? To the pharmacists, would any of you be offended by a tech (of < 6 months at that) who asked for an LOR while telling you that she's leaving?

Thanks, folks...

It wouldn't hurt asking for a recommendation from this person too if you get some work experience at the new place. Most pharmacists are more than happy to help any potential student out to ensure their success. After all, you never know when you may see that person again. They could be your boss one day!

 

[parabolic]

Okay, thanks everyone. I still feel weird about asking, but I'll get over it. 🙂 My boss is nice so hopefully she won't mind too badly.

 

[naseuy]

She was in that position once. She'll understand.

 

[StringTheorist]

she has to understand that if you dont get it now, you cant get it any time later. or just tell her ur leaving and then mention that when you apply, you would appreciate it if she would write a LOR.

 

[Farcus]

Well I worked at a outpatient pharmacy at a local hospital last year and I went to go talk to the pharmacist and she said that she'd be willing to do it but that I should write it and she'll sign it with an official letter head and stuff. I was wondering how do I go about this lol. I mean I know I can technically write anything but this is kind of werid lol.

 

[twester]

Well I worked at a outpatient pharmacy at a local hospital last year and I went to go talk to the pharmacist and she said that she'd be willing to do it but that I should write it and she'll sign it with an official letter head and stuff. I was wondering how do I go about this lol. I mean I know I can technically write anything but this is kind of werid lol.

So actually she's not willing to write you an LOR.

Personally, unless I had absolutely no one else to do it, I'd ask someone else who IS willing. Her response was lazy and unprofessional, IMO. Maybe she just doesn't have the motivation or the time to help you (lazy). Or maybe she feels she can't give you a recommendation for some reason and isn't comfortable talking to you about it (unprofessional).

Just my 2cents.

 

[PharmDeez]

It doesnt mean that she's lazy. It just means she might think you would do a better job at writing a letter than she can. You know your best qualities and you would do a better job at expressing them. You pretty much hit the jackpot when you can write your own letter and have someone sign it. Just google "how to write letter of recommendation" and a whole list of resources will come up.

 

[Farcus]

I"m sure she can write one but I only volunteered there about 35 hours last summer so I don't think she knows me very well but she does know me and I have worked with her. 😳

 

[kismet]

You can write it yourself but you might be shooting yourself in the foot. Unless (and maybe even if) you're killer at writing, an admissions committee is going to be able to tell the difference between a letter written by an undergrad to represent himself, and a letter written by someone with an advanced degree on behalf of an applicant. A lot of schools won't even accept a letter written by a TA and signed by the professor because the TA is not in a position to write a proper letter.

If the problem is that she doesn't know you very well, you can give her a copy of your personal statement, your resume, your grades or even a lab report you've done that you did well on.. things to show her who you are outside of the 35 hours she's seen you and show her what else you've done to prepare for pharmacy.

 

[Omegadramon]

I hope you know how to write one well.

 

[Farcus]

well I dont know how I am going to be able to do it. I can get my dad to write me one I suppose. I don't really want to bother her again, I didn't really think she would do it in the first place because it was such a short period of time during the summer a year ago. I don't really want to make a good situation bad.

 

[Chem Geek]

Are there no other pharmacists in this particular pharmacy who would actually WRITE the letter? I work with six pharmacists, and the one who wrote my LOR is not my pharmacist-in-charge, but a staff pharmacist.

 

[mochiko]

My pharmacist asked me to write my letter as well. Doing a letter of rec isn't that hard... as pharmdeez said, just google sample letters and work your way from there. Try to write it from the perspective of your pharmacist and make it honest but flattering. Throw in a small weakness to make it sound genuine, but counter it with overwhelmingly positive adjectives. Use at least one example so that it sounds like the writer knows you and isn't just spewing out generic superlatives for some kid who needs a letter. Might also help to write differently than your usual style so that adcoms don't think it sounds strangely similar to your essays.

I don't understand why everyone thinks this is such a grave situation. You get the opportunity to control the contents of your letter and you're presented with the task of evaluating yourself as an applicant. This whole admissions process is all about taking a good, hard look in the mirror and then selling yourself to the schools. It might feel awkward, but you'll be doing this for the next several months. Get used to it.

 

[Farcus]

i think i'm just gonna tell my parents to write it. I looked online and I can write it but it feels werid and i'll probably end up making it so obvious that I wrote it. But thanks for the tip about writing small minor weakness so it sounds genuine.

 

[kismet]

I don't understand why everyone thinks this is such a grave situation. You get the opportunity to control the contents

I can't speak for everyone else, but I think it's a big deal because it's fraudulent. If the pharmacy school found out you wrote your own letter they'd toss your application out. Pharm schools don't ask for a letter you wrote about yourself and got someone to sign off on.. they ask for a letter of recommendation from a professional. Some schools won't even place a lot of weight on a letter which has been released to the student; they don't intend for you to be writing your own letter.

And really, a professional (who has been in this situation themselves when they were applying) should understand and honor that. If they're not willing to write you a letter, it seems that it's not that they're "too busy" (my pharmacists are sure real busy but more than willing to take the time to write me a letter to help me get into school) but that they aren't actually interested in recommending you to anyone. I don't mean that to be a reflection on the OP; maybe the pharmacist doesn't feel comfortable writing the letter for whatever personal reason.. but it seems it'd be a better idea to find somewhere to go volunteer for a week or two and get a stronger letter than one you write yourself.. you can google all you want but ad coms are reading tons of letters and I'd think they've learned what's real and what's not by now.

 

[jyw003]

I can't speak for everyone else, but I think it's a big deal because it's fraudulent. If the pharmacy school found out you wrote your own letter they'd toss your application out. Pharm schools don't ask for a letter you wrote about yourself and got someone to sign off on.. they ask for a letter of recommendation from a professional. Some schools won't even place a lot of weight on a letter which has been released to the student; they don't intend for you to be writing your own letter.

And really, a professional (who has been in this situation themselves when they were applying) should understand and honor that. If they're not willing to write you a letter, it seems that it's not that they're "too busy" (my pharmacists are sure real busy but more than willing to take the time to write me a letter to help me get into school) but that they aren't actually interested in recommending you to anyone. I don't mean that to be a reflection on the OP; maybe the pharmacist doesn't feel comfortable writing the letter for whatever personal reason.. but it seems it'd be a better idea to find somewhere to go volunteer for a week or two and get a stronger letter than one you write yourself.. you can google all you want but ad coms are reading tons of letters and I'd think they've learned what's real and what's not by now.

Bingo. Making yourself write about yourself is not letting schools know what others see in you...

 

[bozeefus]

I asked my pharmacy manager several weeks ago if he could write a LOR for me. He said yes. 3 weeks passed and I inquire about the status. He tells me that he did not even look at it yet and he would not have time to meet the Dec 1 deadline. 🙁 yeah, sad face

He also told me that he's never written a LOR before. I can believe that since he's been working in the same retail pharmacy for 30++ yrs with the same 5-6 techs and I was probably the only tech considering pharmacy school.

However, he continued to say that he would sign off on anything I gave him, provided I do not overly exaggerate and say I am the next mother teresa.

I thought this would be a great opportunity for a great LOR but now I am not sure. For one thing, I am not sure what to write about. Of course I will write about how I am as a tech: my tasks, my responsibilities, my work ethics. Perhaps write about how I am with our patients and customers. But what else can I write about? I think this is going to be much harder than it seems...

 

[Passion4Sci]

One of my LORs was one of these.

It's both a great thing and a horrible thing. You need to make sure that, in writing your LOR, you employ someone else's voice. This sounds kind of bad, but think about it for a second. If an AdCom reads your PS and then reads that LoR, and then reads another LoR, the disparity (or rather, parity perhaps) will be, or should be, plain as day. At the very least, you don't want to risk having them sound similar.

It is a difficult task.. talking about yourself in the third person like that. Give it a lot of thought and make sure you at least have someone other than you read it before he signs off on it. Talk about how he (you) would definitely excel in pharmacy school due to his (your) work ethic and dedication to the practice of pharmacy. That sounds reasonable and can be stretched into 5 sentences.

 

[bozeefus]

One of my LORs was one of these.

It's both a great thing and a horrible thing. You need to make sure that, in writing your LOR, you employ someone else's voice. This sounds kind of bad, but think about it for a second. If an AdCom reads your PS and then reads that LoR, and then reads another LoR, the disparity (or rather, parity perhaps) will be, or should be, plain as day. At the very least, you don't want to risk having them sound similar.

It is a difficult task.. talking about yourself in the third person like that. Give it a lot of thought and make sure you at least have someone other than you read it before he signs off on it. Talk about how he (you) would definitely excel in pharmacy school due to his (your) work ethic and dedication to the practice of pharmacy. That sounds reasonable and can be stretched into 5 sentences.

you bring up a very good point! perhaps i should have a friend write the letter while i work in conjunction with my friend? and thanks 🙂

 

[Passion4Sci]

you bring up a very good point! perhaps i should have a friend write the letter while i work in conjunction with my friend? and thanks 🙂

Yeah, that friend doesn't necessarily need to have pharmacy exp., either. Just needs to know you well enough to write a few good sentences, or touch up the ones you wrote, chance words around, etc...

It reminds me of Brandon Sanderson addressing the book signing I was recently at. He is taking over the enormous Wheel of Time series now that Robert Jordan, the original author, passed away. He was talking to us about how difficult it is, writing the continuation of a series with 11 prior books, and how he would write a page, read it over, and say, "Naaaah, Robert would never use that word..." Someone's voice is extremely important and, I think, is conveyed much more readily than most people think. So, make sure you have someone else impartial read it over too, otherwise you might get yourself into hot water later. Or maybe not, but why take the chance?

 

[Prepharm1214]

Morally it feels wrong to me, but I'm sure its been done before.

 

[desklamp]

Yeah, that friend doesn't necessarily need to have pharmacy exp., either. Just needs to know you well enough to write a few good sentences, or touch up the ones you wrote, chance words around, etc...

It reminds me of Brandon Sanderson addressing the book signing I was recently at. He is taking over the enormous Wheel of Time series now that Robert Jordan, the original author, passed away. He was talking to us about how difficult it is, writing the continuation of a series with 11 prior books, and how he would write a page, read it over, and say, "Naaaah, Robert would never use that word..." Someone's voice is extremely important and, I think, is conveyed much more readily than most people think. So, make sure you have someone else impartial read it over too, otherwise you might get yourself into hot water later. Or maybe not, but why take the chance?

nice, another wheel of time fan 🙂

anyways to address the OP, one of my professors who didn't have a super personal relationship with me did a similar thing, since she "wanted to make sure she wrote a letter i would be satisfied with". i didn't write the letter myself, but i wrote a list of my strengths and accomplishments and attached my CV to it and emailed it to her. She then edited in the filler and added in some of her own insight so that it was written in her own voice. Perhaps you could try that.

 

[Passion4Sci]

nice, another wheel of time fan 🙂

Yep! And I'm re-reading them all starting from #1, one every month, until I read The Gathering Storm. This should be in time for the 2nd installment of Sanderson's pick-up, if what he said at the Half Moon Bay signing on Friday was any indication.

 

[ElenaV]

I would talk to the person, and ask them some basic things about what they think about you. Jot down some key words and ideas and then write your own LOR based on what they said. Maybe you could ask other employees there as well, if the pharmacist doesn't give you enough ideas. There's so much room to improvise, I think this is a great opportunity and plus this will give you your first experience in writing LOR's, which you will do one day when you're a pharmacist anyway.