How to Ask for a Recommendation Letter After 12 Years
If you are applying for a new job or internship or if you are looking to get into a school, one of the items you will need is a letter of recommendation. These letters can come from former teachers, professors or employers. Ideally, you should ask someone who has known you in a professional or academic setting recently. However, occasions occur when you'll need to ask someone from your more distant past for help. If you need to ask for a recommendation letter after 12 years, go about it with care.
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Instructions
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Contact the individual you have in mind a month before you need the letter. The most appropriate option is to call him personally. If this is not possible, an email will be acceptable. Take the person's time into consideration. For instance, if the recommendation needs to be from a former professor, do not approach him during finals.
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Explain your situation and the reason why, after 12 years, you would like a recommendation. Some common reasons would be that you are re-entering a field after a hiatus, or that you have been out of the workforce for family-related reasons. Ask the person if she would mind writing a recommendation for you.
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Offer to write the letter yourself. Make this offer tactfully; you do not want to imply that you do not trust the person to write a quality recommendation. State that you understand that after 12 years this could be a difficult letter to write and that you could write it first and have the person edit and approve the letter. If the individual agrees, get the letter to him quickly. You still want him to have close to a month to complete the letter.
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Send a reminder email or call about 10 days before the letter is due. Once you have the letter, send the person a thank you note.
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References
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