Etiquette for thanking referees?

Ghost

I'd never get mine a gift.. seems a bit overboard. You wouldn't get them a gift if you'd not got the position, but they still would've put in the same amount of effort.

A simple thank you e-mail is enough.

I got my tutor the chocs before I found out I had been accepted to any uni for the post grad. It was simply for the effort and time taken to write the reference in the first place. I saw it is being polite and showing appreciation for writing the reference, regardless if I was accepted or not.
I will say though, I don't give people presents for job references, this was for my post grad reference. I applied to 4 unis & they all required additional references besides the UCAS one so a little different from applying for a job.

Reply 21

acupoftea

I'm planning on sending thankyou cards, I'm sure an e-mail would suffice but I think it's appropriate to acknowledge the effort they've made, after all it can be a time-consuming process, especially if you've applied to several universities, and as someone already pointed out, they're not required to do so, they can say no and they have essentially gone out of their way to help you.

Reply 22

lee_miller

thanks for the thoughtful response! I knew all my prof's quite well, but they do teach multiple courses sometimes with 100+ students (which yours might not have), so I want them to remember my work. Every single person who wrote me a letter of recommendation asked me if I wanted them to mention anything specifically, and that's when you can ask mention to them certain things you would like them to outline. My rec's were for my M.Sc. as well as law school, so they are not simply discussing my academic merit, but ability to analyze information, whether or not you are a leader, etc. etc. One of the questions from the Oxford LOR template, asks the prof specifically if the student conveyed what about that course or university appealed to them. I think by giving prof's all this information you are making the letter writing process easier, because you are giving them loads of things they could write about, and they can simple pick and choose what not to include. But like I have said, this seems to be a much more North American thing.

swiftuk

I think you are right about there being cultural differences, and also course differences.

I did an NHS-sponsored undergraduate degree, so had more than average contact hours per week (6-7 per weekday, with the exception of Wednesday afternoons).

A lot of the modules were taught by the same group of lecturers, so they got to know students well. That said, I think had I suggested to any of them what they might wish to include I think that people would have refused me references (definitely seen to be on the pushy side of unprofessional behaviour).

I am also not sure how why you choose programs or your admissions essay fits into their reference (which is generally around academic aptitude and suitability), but again I suspect that this may be a difference based on contact hours and the fact that students in the UK make their subject choice from the beginning. I know of humanities students who have been asked for work samples by referees who have not known their work well.

Depending on the university, reference writing may well be part of the job. For some students (certain professionals registerable on completion of their degree), the universities have to certify that they are fit to practice and of good character, so they tend to use the same as a general reference for the student when they then apply for jobs. It also seems to be encouraged more generally (provision of appropriate references just in case).

Reply 23

Haksa

On a somewhat related topic, is anybody else finding it a real pain in the backside trying to accommodate for different university reference requirements? One university wanted me to scan the reference in and submit it online, another wanted me to post it in a signed-sealed envelope, a third wants me to provide a referees email address so he can submit it himself! I'm surprised I haven't been asked to send a reference through a series of complex smoke signals! Or better yet, have a minstrel deliver the reference by way of song.

Surely there should be a uniform process of sorts? Where the reference is submitted once through a secure online portal, where universities can access it?

Reply 24

username207709

yeah...it was a pain. but i guess some unis are more high tech than others.

Reply 25

natasha6483

Yeah I found it a pain as well. Edinburgh wouldn't even accept the UCAS reference provided by my tutor so she had a write a completely different one, hence the reason for the gift. I also applied to 4 different unis & they all had very different requirements for information I had to provide. Some wanted academic transcripts some wanted nothing at all besides an additional references then others wanted to ask me some hypothetical questions into my area - Social Work.
I would have imagined, before applying, that since it was Social Work, they would have had pretty standard types of info required but that wasn't the case. However after all that, I did get offers from 3 out of 4 of my choices so it wasn't all that bad. :biggrin:

Reply 26

acupoftea

Yep it is very complicated...and difficult to keep track on what you have and have no submitted, particularly when the application has to be made online and supported with additional documents by mail. They should introduce a uniform application system, like UCAS but for postgrads, would save us and the admissions secretaries a lot of time. I tried using prospects but it just made everything even more complicated!

Reply 27

dappleddawndrawndauphin

3

Ghost

I'd never get mine a gift.. seems a bit overboard. You wouldn't get them a gift if you'd not got the position, but they still would've put in the same amount of effort.

A simple thank you e-mail is enough.

:dito: I just sent an email saying I got the place I wanted and thanking them for their help and support. That always seems the most appropriate response to me. One of my tutors has been really great through some tricky times and I was tempted to make a larger gesture of thanks, like a gift, but it didn't really feel appropriate... He was quite surprised that I even went to the lengths of thanking him on the phone. I think they just feel that it's all part of the job description, so a simple thank you is appreciated. That said, I guess these things always vary and depend on the individuals involved.

Etiquette for thanking referees?

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