SMART References & Letters of Recommendation

You are about to ask someone to serve as a reference for you. What do you need to ask them? What do you want them to highlight? This blog posting was written about Letters of Recommendation but is still provides great guidance to consider how you can ask recommenders to highlight certain accomplishments as well as show some of your strongest character traits -- flexibility, dedication, critical and analytical thinking skills, and so much more. This will also help you when you use this as a checklist with a job posting. When you are updating your recommenders on recent applications or upcoming interviews, if there is something specific that you know the employer is looking for and to which this recommender can speak, using the SMART method will provide tangible stories and evidence of your abilities.